Netanyahu to be indicted?

Israel’s attorney general recommended Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust in connection with three corruption cases, casting uncertainty over his political future just six weeks before he faces an election.

Background

Benjamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician serving as the 9th and current Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, previously holding the position from 1996 to 1999. Netanyahu is also currently a member of the Knesset and the Chairman of the Likud party. He is the first Israeli Prime Minister who was born in Israel after the establishment of the state.

Netanyahu has been elected Prime Minister of Israel four times, matching David Ben-Gurion's record; and is the only prime minister in Israel's history to have been elected three times in a row. Netanyahu is currently the second longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel's history after David Ben-Gurion. If Netanyahu wins a snap election in 2019, he is set to become the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history.

During Benjamin Netanyahu's fourth premiership, a number of alleged corruption scandals have been investigated involving Netanyahu and his close political circle. The Israel Police began investigating Netanyahu starting in December 2016. The investigations, which involve prominent Israeli businessmen, ministers, and journalists, are ongoing. Police have already recommended indictments against Netanyahu in two cases and are investigating a third.

Analysis

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit outlined the cases against the prime minister in a 57-page letter sent to PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyers.

Netanyahu, who has strongly denied the allegations against him, now has the opportunity to present his defence at a hearing, before Mandelblit makes a final decision on an indictment. But the recommendation indicates that Israel’s top legal authority believes there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

The legal challenge is a serious blow to Netanyahu ahead of April 9 elections, which he had been predicted to win comfortably on the way to becoming the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history. But in recent weeks, with the attorney general’s announcement approaching, Netanyahu slipped to second place in some opinion polls, especially after his two main rivals, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, decided to run against him on a joint ticket.

Polls have projected that the indictment announcement could cost Netanyahu’s party an additional four seats in parliament. Even if he does win, the scandal could make it more difficult for Netanyahu to build the coalition he needs to govern.

Hours after the attorney general’s recommendation became public, Netanyahu addressed the nation. He described the allegations as a left-wing conspiracy to oust him and as a “house of cards” that would collapse soon after the election. “Don’t let this witch hunt confuse you,” he said addressing voters from the prime minister’s official residence.

Netanyahu has previously said he will not resign if indicted, and his current coalition partners released statements of support Thursday urging that he be considered innocent until proved guilty.

Although Mandelblit’s recommendation was long expected, the announcement rocked Israel on Thursday. Television reporters crowded outside the prime minister’s Jerusalem residence in the pouring rain, to broadcast their take on how the corruption scandal could affect the man who has steered the country for a total of more than 13 years.

Netanyahu’s decision to call elections early, bringing them forward to April from later in the year, was widely seen by political analysts as an attempt to get to the polls before his legal woes caught up with him.

His lawyers filed a last-ditch legal petition Thursday saying that Mandelblit’s move reflected “leftist, thuggish pressure” to topple the prime minister and interfere in the elections. The Justice Ministry rejected the petition, saying there was no legal reason not to proceed.

Assessment

Our assessment is that the indictment of sitting Israeli PM has never occurred before and the Likud party could lose its PM candidate for the upcoming 2019 snap elections. We believe that no one is above the law and that if he is guilty, Netanyahu must resign.

Image Courtesy: Preiss/ MSC (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Netanyahu_Drone_2018.jpg), „Benjamin Netanyahu Drone 2018“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/legalcode