Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 2020 in Jerusalem. - RONEN ZVULUN / AP / SIPA

The trial for corruption of Benyamin Netanyahu, the only head of government in the history of Israel to be charged during his mandate will begin on March 17, two weeks after the elections crucial to his political survival, justice announced on Tuesday.

In a brief statement, the Ministry of Justice said that the indictment will be read by judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman of the Jerusalem court in the presence of Benyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, March 17 in the afternoon.

In the middle of a legislative campaign

The date was announced as the 70-year-old Israeli Prime Minister campaigned for legislative elections on March 2, the third in less than a year in Israel, after failed polls to separate him from his rival Benny Gantz.

The latter had refused after the September legislative elections to join a unity government led by Netanyahu, believing that the latter must first settle his differences with the justice system before claiming power.

Corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust in three cases

The Prime Minister was indicted in the autumn of corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust in three cases by the prosecutor Avichaï Mandelblit.

Israeli law provides that any minister who is subject to criminal prosecution must resign from office, but this does not apply to the Prime Minister. Although he can remain in office, Benyamin Netanyahu does not enjoy any immunity from justice. Netanyahu had thus asked in early January the Parliament, the Knesset, to grant him immunity at the end of the next legislative elections of March 2, betting on his victory to obtain a majority and thus protect himself from justice.

A legal "coup", he said

But the opposition parties convinced a majority of deputies to examine his request for immunity before the elections. Faced with the anticipated rejection of his request, Netanyahu had withdrawn in late January his request for judicial immunity.

Benyamin Netanyahu, who has 14 years of power on the clock whose last decade without interruption, denounces a plot of his detractors to blow up, he says, a legal "coup" against him. But during a meeting of his centrist Blue-White party, ex-general Benny Gantz, Mr. Netanyahu's main rival, said on Tuesday evening that it is "unacceptable that a Prime Minister can at the same time run the country and manage three court cases against him ”.

The lines don't move

"On March 17, his term is over and the trial begins, Netanyahu will not be able to deal with Israeli citizens in addition to his business," added Benny Gantz.

For now, the announcement of his indictment for corruption has not moved the political barometer in Israel. According to a recent poll by the Israeli channel Channel 13, the party of Benny Gantz would obtain 36 seats out of the 120 in the Knesset, compared to 33 for the Likud (right) of Benjamin Netanyahu. By counting their respective allies, the left for Benny Gantz, the radical right and the religious parties for Benjamin Netanyahu, neither of the two big blocs managed to reach 61 deputies, the threshold of majority in the Israeli Parliament.

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