Netanyahu propped up by his partners

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’S coalition allies eased the threat to the Israeli prime minister’s leadership by saying they would not walk out of government after police recommended charging him with corruption.

The heads of two smaller coalition parties yesterday said they would reserve judgment until the attorney general made a final decision on whether to prosecute the prime minister for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Police said on Tuesday that after more than a year of investigating, they had evidence that Mr Netanyahu accepted 1 million shekels (£200,000) in bribes.

But Mr Netanyahu has said he will not resign over the “baseless” allegations.

Yesterday, he said his government was not going to collapse over the police recommendations. “I want to reassure you, the coalition is stable. No one, not I, not anyone else, has plans to go to an election,” he said.

His confidence came after two coalition leaders – Moshe Kahlon, the head of the centrist Kulanu party, and Naftali Bennett, leader of the Right-wing Jewish Home – both said they would wait for the attorney general’s decision.

Mr Bennett said the prime minister was “not living up to” the standard of a national leader by accepting lavish gifts from millionaires, but that he would nonetheless keep his party inside the coalition as Mr Netanyahu was “still presumed innocent”.

The announcement appeared to secure Mr Netanyahu’s position for now as Israel waits for weeks or potentially months before Avichai Mandelblit, the attorney general, decides on charges.