Netanyahu charged in cases of corruption

ISRAEL’S PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused prosecutors of staging “an attempted coup” after he was charged in a series of corruption cases.

The decision by Israel’s attorney general to formally charge Mr Netanyahu throws the country’s paralysed political system into further disarray and threatens his 10-year grip on power.

Attorney general Avichai Mandelblit charged Mr Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three different scandals, following a three-year investigation. It is the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.

Mr Netanyahu appeared on national television, claiming he was the victim of a grand conspiracy by police and prosecutors.

He claimed the indictment stemmed from “false accusations” and a systematically “tainted investigation”, saying the country was witnessing an “attempted coup” against him. He said: “Police and investigators are not above the law. The time has come to investigate the investigators.”

As the investigation gained steam in recent months, Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly lashed out at the media, police and justice system, drawing accusations that he was undermining the country’s democratic institutions.

Mr Mandelblit earlier rejected accusations that his decision was politically motivated and said he had acted solely out of professional considerations.

According to the indictment, Mr Netanyahu accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered to trade favours with a newspaper publisher and used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favourable coverage on a popular news site.

The indictment does not require Mr Netanyahu to resign.