Tel Aviv, Feb. 14 (TNS): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be indicted in two corruption cases, police recommended Tuesday, ramping up pressure on the leader who has served more than a decade in office.
After months of investigations, Israeli police said they believe there is sufficient evidence against the prime minister to indict him on suspicion of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust.
They handed over their recommendations to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who will now examine the evidence and decide whether to move forward with legal proceedings, a process that could take months.
Netanyahu maintained his innocence in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night and gave no indication that he would resign.
“I’m sure that the truth will come to light, and I’m sure that also in the next elections, I will once again win your loyalty, with the grace of God,” he said.
The first case, referred to as Case 1000, details gifts of cigars and jewelry worth hundreds of thousands of shekels that the prime minister and his wife, Sara, are suspected of receiving from billionaire benefactors such as Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and James Packer, an Australian billionaire who was briefly engaged to American singer Mariah Carey.
