COURT REJECTS PETITION SEEKING PM’S RESIGNATION

JERUSALEM Israel’s top court on Sunday dismissed a petition to order Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step aside after his indictment on corruption charges.

The four-term conservative leader has pushed back against the indictment and also a challenge from within his ruling party by projecting business as usual, touring the country’s northern frontier and ramping up rhetoric about Iranian threats.

Netanyahu’s indictment on Thursday came amid political disarray in Israel, after neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz, secured a majority in parliament in elections in April and September.

Netanyahu has denied the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and says he will stay in office and defend himself.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which petitioned for Netanyahu to step aside, said in its filing to the Supreme Court that the first criminal charges against a sitting prime minister constituted “the crossing of a red line and a grave blow to public trust in ruling institutions.”

The court, however, dismissed the petition to force Netanyahu to resign or temporarily recuse himself from office. It said the watchdog had not yet exhausted other avenues, such as petitioning Netanyahu directly and Israel’s attorney general.

For his part, Netanyahu kept his focus on security and toured the Golan Heights with top military brass.