Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit handed the indictment against outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Knesset (parliament) speaker. According to the list, Netanyahu will be tried in three cases on charges of bribery, dishonesty and fraud.

The 30-day deadline given by law to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to apply for parliamentary immunity from the upcoming trial began on Monday.

The court will hear 333 witnesses in the three cases, which means that Netanyahu's trial sessions may last for several years. According to the newspaper "Haaretz" that the trial will be held at the headquarters of the Central Court in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, who has ruled Israel since 2009, ridiculed the length of the list of witnesses and tweeted on his Twitter account that "when there is a valid accusation you do not need 333 witnesses." .

Netanyahu mocked the length of the list of witnesses in cases in which he is accused of judicially bribery dishonesty and fraud (Al Jazeera)

List of witnesses
Witnesses include American nightclub magnate Sheldon Adelson, his wife Mary, Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, Australian billionaire James Packer, retired Israeli security chiefs, and others.

In three cases, the prime minister is accused of illegally requesting precious gifts and accepted by him and members of his family. Netanyahu received positive coverage from the newspaper.

The third issue is that Netanyahu is accused of giving state services and facilities worth about 1.8 billion shekels ($ 500 million) to the Israeli telecommunications company Bezek, in exchange for positive coverage of the prime minister at the Wella news site, owned by former company chairman Shaul Ilovich.

Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing, saying he was the victim of an attempted "coup" by the judiciary, which is trying to isolate a popular right-wing leader. As head of government, he is not required by law to resign after being charged.

Crisis of governance
Netanyahu's trial comes as the latest legal deadline for forming a new government looms, as observers are likely to see Israel turn for a third time in less than a year.

Blue White leader Benny Gantz increased his conditions for forming a coalition government with the prime minister's Likud, and renewed his refusal to sit in a government headed by the criminal suspect Netanyahu.