Israel’s incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has hit out at his country’s judiciary and police of attempting to carry out a coup against him after he was indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
This was after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said that he had made the decision to charge Netanyahu with three serious charges ‘with a heavy heart’ to show that no one was above the law in Israel. Mandelblit had said, “Law enforcement is not a choice. It is not a matter of right or left. It’s not a matter of politics.”
In response, Netanyahu launched a tirade against his own country’s judiciary, police and others accusing all of them of plotting a coup against him. In a 15-minute speech, Netanyahu said that he will ‘not let the lie triumph.’
Netanyahu, often dubbed as a bloodthirsty Israeli prime minister for his act of brutalities using terrorists masquerading as soldiers against helpless Palestinians, is contemplating changing the law to secure immunity failing which he will have to step down from his post as the incumbent PM.
Here are the four cases of fraud, bribery and corruption against Netanyahu as highlighted by BBC.
- Case 1,000: Mr Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust in this case. He is alleged to have received various high-value benefits, including pink champagne and cigars, in return for favours for a wealthy friend. Mr Netanyahu has said they were tokens of friendship and that he did not act inappropriately in exchange for them. The friend similarly denies any wrongdoing.
- Case 2,000: Mr Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in this case. He is alleged to have agreed a deal with the publisher of a major newspaper to promote legislation to weaken a rival daily in return for favourable coverage. The publisher has been charged with bribery. Like the prime minister, he denies any wrongdoing. Both men have said they did not intend to promote the matters discussed in their meetings, and the legislation was not passed.
- Case 4,000: This is considered the most serious case because Mr Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust. It is alleged that Mr Netanyahu promoted regulatory decisions that favoured a leading telecommunications company in return for favourable news coverage from one of its websites, as part of an agreement with the company’s controlling shareholder. The prime minister has insisted experts supported the regulatory decisions and that he received nothing in return. The shareholder, who has been charged with bribery, also denies wrongdoing.