JERUSALEM, Israel – According to Israeli television reports, judges presiding over a case of bribery charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned prosecutors and defense attorneys, and told them the prosecution’s case is not likely to lead to a conviction.
Case 4000 is widely believed to be the most serious of 3 cases against Netanyahu in a 7-year criminal court battle that divided Israelis and created the backdrop that led to 5 elections in the past 4 years.
Israel’s Channel 13 and Walla News reported the judges recommended a plea bargain and court mediation to settle the issue.
Several of Netanyahu’s Likud Party supporters sharply criticized the prosecution, as well as former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, for bringing the charges in the first place.
“After years of media and legal persecution against the prime minister, a persecution that has turned an entire country, today the judges also say clearly that there is no chance of a conviction for bribery,” said Education Minister Yoav Kisch.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Environment Minister Idit Silman raised the issue of compensation to the State of Israel for of the political upheaval and the succession of elections the country went through, and she asked, “Who will compensate the Netanyahu family for years of unbearable persecution?”
Knesset member Almog Cohen of the Otzma Yehudit Party contacted the Attorney-General’s office, asking that they investigate Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan for initiating the cases against Netanyahu.
The Case 4000 charge involved allegations that the prime minister sought to receive favorable media coverage from a major shareholder of Bezeq communications, who is also the owner of Walla News, in exchange for favorable regulatory decisions from the government.
Government attorneys also brought charges in Case 2000, in which Netanyahu was accused of weakening one newspaper Israel Hayom, with legislation that would favor another newspaper, Yediot Ahronot. In another set of charges, Case 1000, the prime minister was charged with receiving gifts from a wealthy businessman in exchange for government help for his business.
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