Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted in all three corruption cases against him — for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has claimed the indictments are “an attempted coup” to topple him and his right-wing government.
Why it matters: This is the first time in Israeli history that a sitting prime minister has faced criminal charges. Israel’s attorney general sent the indictments to Netanyahu’s lawyers and to the speaker of the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — in order to begin the process of stripping him of his parliamentary immunity, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
The backdrop: The most painful charge for Netanyahu stems from “Case 4000,” which concerns his and his wife’s relationship with Israel’s leading telecommunications tycoon.
- According to a police statement, Netanyahu, who at the time was also the telecom minister, allegedly gave Shaul Elovitz regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In return, Netanyahu and his wife were allegedly allowed to demand positive coverage from one of Israel’s major news websites, owned by Elovitz.
- Flashback: Police recommended charges in two other bribery cases in February. One involves Netanyahu allegedly taking “gifts” worth $200,000 from businessmen in return for promoting their interests (Case 1000). The other is an alleged bribe deal between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Israel’s largest newspaper (Case 2000).
View the November 21 article by Barak Ravid from Israel’s Channel 13 news on the Axios website here.
