A possible agreement between Netanyahu and the Israeli prosecutor's office stirs up the political class
Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu leaves a Jerusalem courthouse on November 16, 2021, as part of his corruption trial.
AFP - JACK GUEZ
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1 min
The former Prime Minister could avoid prison time, but would give up pursuing his political career.
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“
A great deal for Bibi
”, headlines an Israeli daily. Lawyers for Binyamin Netanyahu, accused of corruption, fraud and breach of trust,
are negotiating an agreement
that would put an end to his trial, which is expected to last for years. The former head of government would plead guilty to two lesser charges. The bribery charge would be dropped. Netanyahu would thus avoid prison time, but would give up the pursuit of his political career.
The political class is in turmoil and commentators are analyzing all possible scenarios.
In
Likud
, the party of the former Prime Minister, several candidates are preparing his possible succession in the event of his retirement from political life, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Michel Paul
.
Ministers and MPs from the current coalition are considering a return to the Conservative Party.
Some are already talking about new elections.
Towards a new coalition?
For political scientist Denis Charbit, of the Open University of Israel, such an agreement would in any case sound the death knell for the current government. “
As we have always presented the refusal to sit in a government with the right and with the religious parties because Netanyahu was at the head, once he is no longer at the head, in theory we can redo the calculations,
he analyzes.
And the addition of votes from the right would make it possible without any difficulty to rebuild a coalition.
".
“
Calm down
”, launches the current head of government Naftali Bennett this Sunday morning during the weekly Council of Ministers to journalists.
“
We continue to work
,” he adds.
For former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, if this agreement was finally signed, it would be a shame for generations to come.
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Israel
Binyamin Netanyahu
Justice
Corruption