TEL AVIV — Israel’s attorney general announced on Thursday that he intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. Attorney Gene
TEL AVIV — Israel’s attorney general announced on Thursday that he intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said he is seeking to press charges against Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pending a hearing.
The announcement comes just over a month before Israel’s general elections.
The different charges relate to three separate corruption cases.
In one case, Netanyahu is accused of having received gifts from billionaires in exchange for his assistance in business and personal areas.
In another case, he is accused of striking a deal with the publisher of a critical newspaper to improve its coverage of him in exchange for weakening a pro-Netanyahu paper.
In the final case, Netanyahu allegedly ordered favourable rulings for the country’s largest telecommunications firm in exchange for positive coverage on a news site owned by that firm’s controlling shareholder.
In the first two cases the attorney general intends to press charges of fraud and breach of trust and in the final case bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
The attorney general’s decision is not final and can be altered after a hearing.
