Israeli police on Tuesday formally recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be sued for fraud and exploitation of trust, and police said there was corruption in a secret deal Netanyahu was trying to make with the owner of the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel. The final decision to indict Netanyahu remains in the hands of Attorney General Avishai Mandelblit.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police announced on Tuesday that they had formally recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be prosecuted for corruption, fraud and abuse of trust in two cases.
"The police have concluded that there is sufficient evidence against the prime minister on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and exploiting trust," it said in a statement.
However, the final decision to formally indict Netanyahu remains in the hands of Attorney General Avishai Mandelblit, whose decision may take several weeks or months before deciding on the matter.
Justice Minister Ialit Shaked said the formal indictment of the prime minister did not mean he would be forced to resign.
Netanyahu, 68, immediately after the release of the statement on the investigation, which has been going on for two years, gave a televised speech, asserting his accusation and repeating his innocence. "These recommendations have no legal value in a democratic country," he said.
The first case he is accused of is getting gifts, for example a luxury cigar he craves, from wealthy people like Australian billionaire James Packer or Arnon Milcan, the Israeli producer in Hollywood.
The media estimated the total value of these gifts at tens of thousands of dollars.
The police also considered corruption in a secret deal that Netanyahu was trying to conclude with the owner of Yedioth Ahronoth to ensure positive coverage in the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel.
Netanyahu has been subject to suspicions on several occasions previously.
He has been prime minister since 2009, and after a first period between 1996 and 1999, Netanyahu passed an 11-year term in power.
In the absence of a clear competitor, Netanyahu could break the record of David Ben-Gurion, the founder of Israel, if the Knesset completes his term until November 2019.
The fate of Netanyahu
"When the prime minister is charged, he will not be asked to resign until all the appeals against the indictment have been exhausted," Israeli expert Ofer Kenig of the Institute for Democracy in Israel told AFP.
He explained that the law allows the parliament to initiate a special action against the prime minister after the indictment and before exhausting the appeals if the prime minister accused of moral corruption.
The Israeli judiciary can crack down on senior leaders convicted of corruption.
Netanyahu's former opponent, Ehud Olmert, who took over as prime minister between 2006 and 2009, came out of prison in July 2017 a year later and four months in prison after being convicted of corruption.
The media quoted him as saying Wednesday that he hoped Netanyahu would complete his term "quickly and honorably."
Politically, commentators have suggested that Netanyahu's fate will depend largely on the position of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, head of a center-right party.
If he abandons this party, he has 10 deputies (out of 120), Netanyahu will lose the parliamentary majority.
Hanan Kristal, a political commentator for the public radio, predicted that "very intense pressure will now be placed on Moshe Kahlon."
