Sara Netanyahu 'pocketed money' by recycling bottles

The wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of pocketing money out of recycling used plastic bottles purchased with public funds, a former custodian of the Netanyahus’ residence told an Israeli daily Friday.

Sara Netanyahu allegedly made more than $4,000 in profit out of recycling empty bottles purchased by the state, said Meni Naftali, who used to work at the Israeli prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.

Naftali told Yedioth Ahronoth that the prime minister’s wife would order her domestic staff to recycle the bottles in exchange for cash at shops.

“She would collect the bottles obsessively. ‘Here's a bottle, here's another bottle.’ She would buzz the intercom and say: ‘Meni, I sent you another bottle,’” said Naftali in statements carried by The Telegraph.

“This was Sara Netanyahu's pocket money, and no one knew that it was going into her pocket,” he said.

Naftali served the prime minister’s residence for 20 months. He then filed a personal lawsuit against the Netanyahus for alleged mistreatment.

The incident comes before Israeli elections next March, where Netanyahu eyes re-election.

The scandal is not the first of its kind for the Israeli prime minister, who faced a public outcry when it was revealed that he received a special budget from the state for ice cream supplies from his favorite parlor.