Israeli Attorney General's Ruling to Continue Legal Proceedings in Netanyahu's Corruption Cases

On Friday, February 1, the Attorney General of Israel announced that the legal proceedings against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding corruption cases can continue and his trial will take place. According to this judicial official, there is 'no legal prohibition' on issuing an indictment in the cases involving allegations of corruption against Netanyahu before the upcoming elections in two months. Israeli media reported that Avichai Mandelblit, the Attorney General, informed Netanyahu's legal team of this in an official letter. Netanyahu's lawyers had recently met with Mandelblit to present their arguments for delaying the legal process against the Prime Minister until after the elections. The Attorney General also emphasized that his teams are continuing to work to bring the cases to their final stages and that he will announce his final opinion 'very soon'; Israeli media stated that this decision would be made within two weeks. Over the past three years, investigators from the Israeli police's anti-corruption unit have repeatedly questioned Netanyahu in three cases known as Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000, with questioning in Case 3000 related to the purchase of several submarines from Germany for the Israeli army as a 'knowledgeable person.' The police have recommended that the Attorney General issue an indictment in the three cases against Netanyahu. The allegations include receiving personal benefits such as expensive gifts, collusion with a media mogul against other media outlets, and the process of privatizing a telecommunications company. Early parliamentary elections in Israel are set for April 8, 2020; Netanyahu, as the leader of the ruling Likud party, remains the main candidate for the Prime Minister's position in this election. Netanyahu's supporters reiterated after the Attorney General's announcement on Friday that judicial officials and police commanders are 'under pressure from the Prime Minister's political rivals.' Last month, Netanyahu criticized the police for not confronting him with witnesses who have testified against him during the investigation phase, calling for these processes to resume; legal authorities rejected this request. Witnesses in all cases have been close officials and individuals to the Prime Minister at various times. Despite the investigations against Netanyahu nearing critical stages after years of media reports and three years of police investigations in Israel and several other countries, recent polls indicate that a significant percentage of Israeli voters still consider him the most qualified politician for the Prime Minister's position. According to several polls conducted following the entry of Benny Gantz, the former Chief of Staff, into the electoral scene, a majority of voters still believe that Netanyahu has the most experience and capability to govern the country, and his party, Likud, is expected to secure 30 seats out of 120 in the Knesset. On the other hand, all these polls predict a high chance for Gantz and his newly established party, called Israel Resilience, which could capture more than 20 seats, with 35% of voters believing he deserves the Prime Minister's position. Gantz's rising popularity, nearly on par with Netanyahu, and the transformation of the Israel Resilience party into the second-largest party in the country comes as General Gantz only began his campaign this week, while Likud and Netanyahu have decades of history. The entry of the Israel Resilience party into the political arena has severely weakened all other Israeli parties and could even lead to their collapse.