The outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to request temporary parliamentary immunity to avoid trial on corruption charges before the early elections scheduled for next March 2.
In a speech he gave to occupied Jerusalem just before the legal deadline for seeking immunity expired, Netanyahu (70 years) said that he decided to go to the Knesset to request that he be granted immunity, which would protect him from prosecution if he won the next elections and formed a new government under his chairmanship.
He presented himself as a healthy, unjust plot, and criticized the prosecutors who charged him with corruption and for some media and his political opponents, calling for an investigation with his opponents, the leader of the Blue and White Alliance Benny Gatnis and his partner Yair Lapid for spending public funds in their election campaign.
The trial of the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister cannot proceed with the application of immunity, and it is unlikely that the Knesset will make a decision on the issue before the early general elections.
Gantz immediately condemned Netanyahu's request for immunity, saying that he was working to destroy Israel in light of its political and security challenges for his personal interests.
Gantz, who is Netanyahu's main opponent, said he would do everything he could to prevent Netanyahu from obtaining immunity, and a blue and white alliance had announced that he would form a parliamentary committee to examine the issue of immunity.
Netanyahu had vowed to win the next election, the third in a year, while opinion polls showed that the vote may again lead to the same results as the last election.
It should be noted that in November, a list of charges against Netanyahu was issued that includes bribery, fraud and breach of trust, charges that all deny.