After months of legal wrangling over corruption and bribery charges and being booted out of office by voters, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu may finally be taking a plea deal that gets him out of politics.
Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has for several weeks been negotiating a plea agreement with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, according to Israeli media reports.
Why it matters: One key sticking point is whether the deal, which would require Netanyahu to plead guilty to corruption charges, would also require the former prime minister to step away from politics. Any deal would create a political firestorm in Israeli and could bring down the current government.
That's because Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government — which includes left-wing, centrist and right-wing parties — was formed seven months ago mainly to oust Netanyahu from power. It excluded the largest party, Likud (led by Netanyahu), because of the corruption charges. Netanyahu is the “glue” that holds the current government together. If he exits the stage, Israel could either head for new elections or a new government under new Likud leadership.
Driving the news: On Jan. 12, Israeli journalist Ben Caspit first reported about the negotiations, which were held secretly between Netanyahu’s lawyer and the attorney general.
Several other reports have followed, outlining the proposed terms of the deal. Neither Netanyahu nor the Ministry of Justice has denied them. Netanyahu hasn't commented publicly, but many of his supporters in Likud are continuing to call on him to fight.
The allegations against Netanyahu include that he systematically demanded gifts from businesspeople worth in excess of $250,000 in total and offered regulatory benefits in exchange for favorable media coverage.
Netanyahu wants to walk away from all this with no real consequences, but the Attorney General wants at the minimum community service time and seven years out of politics.
We'll see where this goes.
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