Breaking News: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted on bribery charges pending hearing - News Paper

The announcement comes less than two months before Israel’s elections.

In a long-awaited decision, Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Thursday that he intends to officially charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu with crimes, the beginning of a process that could eventually force him to step down from his position.

The attorney general plans to indict the prime minister on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, charges that relate to three different corruption cases, pending a hearing, the Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported.

Israeli police recommended three times last year that Netanyahu be indicted on corruption charges — so Mandelblit’s decision didn’t come as a complete surprise. But it’s still pretty bad timing for the prime minister.

Israeli elections are coming up on April 9, and Netanyahu is running for a fourth term. His conservative Likud party is also just a few seats away from losing its grip on power, and the indictment could tip the scale.

Similar to a certain US president, Netanyahu has accused investigators of leading a “witch hunt” against him and decried the liberal media for conspiring to undermine him. He’s likely to paint these pending indictments as more of the same.

It’s also unclear what his next step will be if he is indicted: continue to serve as prime minister while on trial, or resign?

The attorney general’s decision comes after three years of investigations

Netanyahu is facing charges related to three corruption cases.

In the first, known as Case 1000, Israeli police allege that for years, Netanyahu and his wife Sara received gifts in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of champagne, jewelry, and cigars from wealthy individuals in the United States and Australia.

In exchange, Netanyahu reportedly tried to extend tax exemption legislation that would have benefited at least one of the men involved. The new charges related to this case are fraud and breach of trust.

In the second case, known as Case 2000, one of Netanyahu’s aides recorded lengthy conversations between the prime minister and the head of Israel’s largest opposition paper, in which they discussed making a deal where the paper would be less critical of Netanyahu.

In return, the prime minister would stop the weekend publication of their commercial rival, Israel Today, a paper owned by US casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (which is sometimes known in Israel as the “Bibi paper” for its pro-Netanyahu stance).

The deal apparently was never settled, but the conversations in themselves were damning enough. The newly announced charges in this case are breach of trust and fraud.

The third and most recent case against the prime minister is known as Case 4000, and experts agree that this is the most damning.

On December 2, Israeli police accused Netanyahu of trading regulatory favors for positive media coverage of himself and his family. Over a period of five years, the prime minister reportedly intervened in the day-to-day coverage and affairs of Walla, a news website run by the country’s telecommunications company, Bezeq.

In return, Netanyahu — in his role as minister of communications, which is one of his titles — allegedly rewarded the company by using his political power to give them more favorable regulations, despite political opposition. The charges related to this case are bribery and breach of trust.

So what’s next for Israel’s prime minister?

Netanyahu will likely participate in a pre-trial hearing, where he will have the chance to rebut the accusations. If the indictment becomes official, there could be appeal hearings, and the process could potentially last several months, or even years.

Netanyahu also may not have to leave office. There’s an ongoing legal debate about whether the prime minister can be forced to resign if he has to sit trial, experts told me. But leaders of other parties could say an indictment is a step too far and call for his resignation.

If he’s convicted, however, the law is very clear, said Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, DC. “He would have to resign.”

In the meantime, the prime minister still enjoys a high level of popularity among Israelis. He’s proved remarkably resilient to corruption claims that have plagued his administration for years. But with elections coming up right around the corner, it remains to be seen the indictment news could cause the political landscape to shift.

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Breaking News: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted on bribery charges pending hearing - News Paper