Israel's Attorney General to Issue Indictments Against Netanyahu in Three Cases

On a day described as the most critical juncture in Benjamin Netanyahu's political and personal life during his over 45 years in Israeli politics, Avichai Mandelblit, the Attorney General of Israel, announced on Thursday, March 9, that indictments will be presented to the court against the leader of the Israeli government in three investigative cases. According to Israeli media reports, the prosecution will issue indictments in all three cases in which the police had interrogated Netanyahu more than ten times over the past two years. Previously, the Israeli police had recommended to the Attorney General that Netanyahu be brought to trial in all three cases based on the expert opinion of their investigators, but prolonged political and judicial disputes had so far prevented the Attorney General from presenting a final opinion. The Attorney General's definitive opinion is less stringent compared to the police's recommendation, as he has only charged Netanyahu in one case with severe bribery, while in the other two cases, the charges were described as conspiracy and breach of trust. Mandelblit, who was appointed to the position of Attorney General and senior legal advisor to the government by Netanyahu himself, accused Netanyahu in the case known as "4000" of receiving bribes and "conflict of interest." In the case known as "1000," the Prime Minister was accused of fraud and breach of trust; this case involves receiving illegal gifts from friendly foreign billionaires for himself and his wife. The Attorney General described case "2000" as "breach of trust" based on Netanyahu's collusion with Arnon Mozes, the owner of Yedioth Ahronoth, to help promote this newspaper in exchange for positive media coverage and pressure on the rival newspaper, Israel Hayom, which is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a wealthy American Jewish billionaire and Netanyahu's primary media supporter. In case "4000," the Attorney General determined that Netanyahu sold the state-owned and long-standing telecommunications company Bezeq to Shaul Elovitch, the owner of the news site Walla News, and by providing facilities to Elovitch, the Walla News website presented positive news about Netanyahu. Thus, the most severe charge regarding bribery is raised in connection with the Bezeq-Walla News case. Shaul Elovitch has been accused and detained for two years. However, the Attorney General has also indicated that Arnon Mozes, the billionaire and owner of Yedioth Ahronoth, which has been the most popular newspaper in the country for decades, should also be prosecuted. Currently, the Attorney General has not mentioned Sara Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's wife, in case "4000," although she has also been interrogated multiple times in this case. Benjamin Netanyahu, aware of the Attorney General's opinion, emphasized that the issuance of the indictment is a capitulation by the Attorney General to political pressures from rivals and a "political assassination attempt" against him, but he will prove his "innocence" in court. He has repeatedly stated for the past two years that he has "done nothing wrong" and told his supporters that nothing would come out of the interrogations "because there was fundamentally nothing going on." Multiple Israeli media outlets broadcast the Attorney General's announcement live, considering its significance for Netanyahu's personal and political career and the political landscape of Israel. This event is regarded as one of the most important occurrences in the last decade for the country due to its potential consequences for its leadership. Three major television networks in the country had strongly suggested the night before that the Attorney General's final opinion would be to issue an indictment against Netanyahu. The importance of this event lies in the fact that Netanyahu closed the file of his fourth government about a year earlier than its legal term two months ago and announced early elections for April 9. This is the first time in the 70 years since Israel's establishment that a sitting Prime Minister has been officially indicted. Investigations two decades ago against former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon never reached the stage of indictment. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to 19 months in prison for corruption after leaving office. Moshe Katsav, a former president, was tried, convicted, and imprisoned, but the presidency is a ceremonial position. Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday afternoon to discuss "countering Iran's efforts to establish a presence in Syria," had to shorten his visit to Russia and return immediately to Jerusalem due to the significance of the Attorney General's announcement regarding his investigative cases. The Likud party, which Netanyahu has led since 1992 with a brief interruption, submitted an urgent request to the Supreme Court in the last hours before the Attorney General's announcement, seeking a ruling from senior judges to prevent the Attorney General's intentions before the elections, but this request was rejected. Netanyahu, 69, has completed his fourth term as Prime Minister, three of which have been consecutive since 2009. He remains a candidate for the Prime Minister's position in the elections in a month and a half. The likelihood of Netanyahu withdrawing from the election campaign while he is officially a defendant today is low; there is no law in Israel that forces an indicted Prime Minister to resign, as such a situation has not occurred in the past. Despite the most challenging day of Netanyahu's political life, Israeli media still speculate that his party will gain more seats in the elections and may even strengthen further, but his rivals hope that the current predicament will lead to his removal from power. The newly formed political coalition called Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, expressed greater confidence in the party's victory in the elections six weeks later following the Attorney General's announcement. However, the Likud party dismissed this as premature optimism. Although Israel considers the trial of its officials a sign of democracy and equality of all citizens before the law, it shows greater strictness towards officials, as their actions are deemed a betrayal of trust to those who have been role models, worse than ordinary citizens. In connection with the increased strictness against Netanyahu, the judiciary recently forced him to return $300,000 that his cousin had given him to help pay his lawyers' fees, and he, who has about $15 million in personal wealth, was compelled to use only his own money for his legal team. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, who participated in a press conference on Thursday, March 9, at the end of negotiations with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, in Hanoi, Vietnam, reacted to the Israeli Prime Minister's legal troubles. Mr. Trump stated that he is not aware of the details of Benjamin Netanyahu's troubles but knows that he is an "extraordinary, tough, smart, and strong Prime Minister who has done his job well, even though the U.S. provides $6 billion in annual aid to the Israeli government, Israel shows a lot of merit in managing its affairs.