Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu charged in corruption cases
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Nov 22, 2019
But the two elections that neither Netanyahu nor Gantz won exposed a rare political vulnerability in the prime minister after a decade in office.
The Prime Minister has failed to put together a coalition government twice this year, following a national elections in April and a subsequent poll staged in September to end the political deadlock.
Netanyahu has declared the charges to be part of a "witch hunt" orchestrated by left-wing politicians, the media, and prosecutors.
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, have always been known for their penchant for an expensive lifestyle and questionable use of public funds. She'd previously been indicted for graft, fraud and breach of trust.
Unlikely. It could take many months before the cases are brought before the court.
In return, Bezeq's news site, Walla, published favourable articles about Mr Netanyahu and his family. In this case Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust and Mozes has been charged with offering a bribe.
Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit announced the decision, the first of its kind against a serving Israeli Prime Minister, in a statement and said the charges included bribery, breach of trust and fraud.
The indictment also said that Mr Netanyahu's gifts of champagne from billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer "turned into a sort of supply line". The charges include fraud and breach of trust.
The most serious charges were connected to so-called "Case 4000", in which Mr Netanyahu is accused of passing regulations that gave his friend, telecom magnate Shaul Elovitch, benefits worth over $US250 million to his company Bezeq.
Rightwinger Netanyahu, who has been in power since 2009, is Israel's longest-serving prime minister and dominates the country's political scene.
Netanyahu may now ask the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, to grant him immunity from prosecution. Netanyahu has noted that a proposed law to weaken Israel Hayom never passed and that he had even dissolved his coalition and called a new election in 2015 because of his opposition to the proposal.
According to TV reports based on recently leaked police investigations, Adelson's wife also testified that Sara Netanyahu exerted pressure on her to provide gifts and favorable media coverage.
