PM Netanyahu will stand trial in three corruption cases, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided on Thursday.
In all three cases in which he is a suspect – Cases 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 – Netanyahu will be indicted for fraud and breach of trust (under Israeli law fraud and breach of trust is one count).
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In Case 4,000, on top of the count of fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu will face an additional count of bribery.
In Case 1,000, Netanyahu is accused of receiving gifts worth over $200,000 from friends over an extended period, while Case 2,000 and Case 4,000 both involve alleged attempts by Netanyahu to secure positive media coverage in exchange for political favors.
In Case 4,000 – considered the most serious of the three – Netanyahu is accused of expediting a regulatory change toward the merger of Israel's two largest telecommunications companies, Bezeq and YES, in exchange for positive coverage on the Walla! news portal owned by Shaul Elovitch.
Elovitch was the controlling shareholder of Bezeq at the time and also had a majority stake in YES. However, the merger had already been approved by Israel's antitrust commission.
Netanyahu can still seek immunity through Knesset, but it is unclear if he has enough votes to get it or whether the Knesset can do so without a newly formed government.
"Having reviewed Netanyahu's claims during the pre-indictment hearing, I have decided not to change my view regarding the crimes he has been accused of," Mendelblit said on Thursday.
Mendelblit said he made his decision "with a heavy heart" and acknowledged that it was a "sad day for Israel," as this was the first time that a sitting prime minister was being indicted. "This is not a matter of politics, because enforcing the law is not a matter of choice," Mendelblit said. "I am duty-bound personally to make this decision," he stressed, insisting that he had "zero second thoughts" regarding his decision.
He added that Netanyahu's appeal has resulted in a change in the language of the indictment, but not in the counts.
Mendelblit also said that he would indict Elovitch and his wife Iris for bribery, obstruction of justice and suborning perjury for their alleged role in Case 4,000.
In Case 2,000, Netanyahu is accused of breach of trust and fraud because he was allegedly willing to help Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Noni Mozes by promoting legislation that would curtail the daily's chief competitor, Israel Hayom, in exchange for positive coverage.
Netanyahu is not accused of taking a bribe from Mozes, but Mozes will be indicted for offering one, Mendelblit said.
