Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Israeli Attorney General’s decision Thursday to criminal indict him, calling it an attempted coup, Anadolu reports.
In a televised speech shortly after the indictment was announced, Netanyahu claimed the investigation was biased by the police and investigators.
Netanyahu decries 'attempted coup' against him after Israeli Attorney General files corruption charges against him. https://t.co/XDYVBr236f
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) November 22, 2019
“This evening we are witnesses to an attempted government coup against the prime minister, using false allegations and stained investigations,” said Netanyahu.
He added:
“I respect the legal establishment in Israel, but you need to be blind to ignore that something wrong is happening against me from the police, prosecution”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is charged with bribery, breach of trust and fraud, a criminal indictment that will plunge Israel deeper into political disarray https://t.co/TdNsjpdoOc pic.twitter.com/G1Z48pJKzZ
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 22, 2019
Netanyahu accused Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit of publishing the indictment at a sensitive time during the elections.
He said:
“[The] timing of decisions draws legal process against me into question. We need a law enforcement arm which the public trusts”.
Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the corruption indictments leveled against him as an “attempted coup” and a witch hunt. He’s vowing to stay put, and planning a public campaign against the attorney general, the state prosecutors and the police.https://t.co/M6kXQ3hqeo
— Axios (@axios) November 22, 2019
Right-wing Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman said Netanyahu should be given a chance to prove he is innocent in court.
Centrist Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz said Netanyahu has no public or moral mandate to make fateful decisions.
Update: Hundred of Netanyahu supporters protest outside the attorney general's residence ahead of the expected announcement of the prime minister's indictment https://t.co/pGtjry4JNb
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) November 18, 2019
He, along with his partner at the party, Yair Lapid, called Netanyahu to resign.
Mandelblit indicted Netanyahu on charges which include bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He was charged in three different cases.
The indictment made him the first prime minister in Israeli history to be indicted while in office.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
