(TEL AVIV) – Following a four-day hearing conducted last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in an announcement made by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit this evening.
The embattled Israeli leader denies all wrongdoing, claiming that he is the victim of political “witch hunt.’
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, with a maximum 3-year term for fraud and breach of trust, in what the AG has dubbed “Cases 4000, 2000 and 1000.”
This is the first time in Israel’s relatively brief history that a sitting Prime Minister has been accused of bribery.
Speaking in a televised address earlier today, the normally confident Likud Party leader appeared to be on the back foot, a side not seen before in his public appearance, saying, “I give my life to this state, I fought for it, I was wounded for it. I have to say this is a very hard day.”
“I think you need to be blind to see that something wrong is going on. This is a political coup,” Netanyahu.
Rival Benny Gantz refuting the PM’s claims. “Israel is not undergoing a government coup, rather an entrenchment in power. Netanyahu has proven tonight that he must leave his post and focus on his legal woes,” said Gantz.
According to AG Mandelblit, during the hearing process, Netanyahu was aggressive and attempted to delegitimize everyone involved in order to weaken the inquiry into his illicit activities in a way that “was meant to create the impression that any decision taken would be wrong. The investigations are based on broad-based evidence and testimony, which were professionally reviewed. No stone was left unturned.”
The judiciary’s move will not help the country’s current political impasse, as it appears to be heading towards its third election run-off in 12 months.
The indictments will also come as an embarrassment to US President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, after Trump allowed his image to be used in Netanyahu’s recent disastrous general election run (pictured above), with the floundering PM pictured in a national billboard and poster campaign alongside the US president, with the slogan, “Netanyahu, in a different league.”
His case will be heard by three judges in the Jerusalem District Court, with trial dates yet to be announced.
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