JERUSALEM, Jan 29 (NNN-MA’AN) – Criminal indictment, charging Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu with corruption, was filed in the Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday, the Attorney-General’s office said.
The office of Attorney-General Avihai Mandelblit, said that, the indictment charges Netanyahu with three separate cases of corruption. The charges include bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
The office said, the submission of the indictment, originally issued in Nov, is postponed because Netanyahu wants to ask the Knesset (parliament) to grant him a parliamentary immunity, to avoid prosecution in court.
Yesterday, Netanyahu announced he has withdrawn the request, amidst apparent majority in the Knesset, to reject his request.
An hour later, Madelblit’s office submitted the indictment, “as required by law,” the office said. The move marks the beginning of the prosecution of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.
According to the indictment, in a corruption affair dubbed “Case 4000,” Netanyahu has taken bribes from Shaul Elovitch, a former control-holder of Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecom company, by giving Bezeq financial and regulatory benefits.
During the alleged offences, Netanyahu was the communication minister, in addition to his capacity as prime minister. He intervened with regulators to assist Bezeq. In exchange, Elovitch, a close friend of Netanyahu, allegedly required Walla, a news site controlled by Elovitch, to provide favourable coverage of Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.
In “Case 1000,” Netanyahu and his family allegedly received expensive cigars, champagne and jewellery worth about one million new shekels (about 268,200 dollars) from the Israeli businessman and Hollywood tycoon, Arnon Milchan, between 2007 and 2016.
In “Case 2000,” Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, one of Israel’s largest newspapers, allegedly held talks over an “exchange deal,” in which Netanyahu would receive favourable coverage in Yedioth Ahronoth.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as “a political witch hunt.”
Netanyahu, 70, is struggling also for his political survival, with a tight race against the centrist Benny Gantz, Israel’s former military chief, ahead of the Mar 2 national elections.
