Israeli attorney general accuses scandal-tainted Netanyahu of discrediting judiciary

The Israeli prosecutor’s office may remove scandal-tainted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office if he is found guilty of harming and tarnishing decision-makers overseeing his case or sabotaging the legal proceedings.

According to Israeli leading daily Haaretz, Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit was holding consultations on Wednesday whether Netanyahu should be disqualified from serving as premier because of what Mendelblit sees as Netanyahu’s use of the office for his personal benefit as a defendant in three corruption cases.

Mendelblit slammed Netanyahu’s allegations of judicial impropriety as “baseless falsehoods entirely intended to delegitimize the justice system and its decisions regarding the prime minister.”

In a move that critics said was an attempt to distract from his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Netanyahu called on Wednesday for an “independent inquiry” into the investigators who brought corruption charges against him.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, insisted that authorities were “distorting justice” to force him out of office following reports of major police misconduct.

Earlier this week, Israel’s Channel 12 alleged that police and prosecutors had failed to disclose alleged conflicts of interest by an investigator who the report said was involved in the cases against him.

“Obviously there are political decisions being made here by senior law enforcement officials who are distorting justice and the law in order to overthrow a right-wing prime minister,” Netanyahu said during a meeting of his Likud Party meeting 

“This conduct must be investigated. But who will investigate? The police chief who protects the investigator? The state prosecutor who protects the police chief? Perhaps the attorney general?”

Dozen arrested as anti-Netanyahu protest turns violent in Jerusalem al-Quds

Israeli police clash with people protesting against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem al-Quds for the 11th consecutive week, arresting 12 demonstrators.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, faces public anger over the corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, drawing thousands to the streets in almost daily protests.

Israel has seen a sharp rise in new cases after initial success at the start of the pandemic, and on Tuesday began a week-long campaign of night curfews and school closures.

Virus infection cases stand at 139,000. The death toll has also passed 1,000 amid a hasty reopening of the economy in the occupied lands.

Netanyahu, whose corruption trial began in May and is set to resume in January, was sworn in for a fifth term this summer after striking a unity deal with his principal election rival, former military chief Benny Gantz.

Speaking after Netanyahu’s remarks, Gantz, who has been at odds with the premier over the coronavirus response and fiscal policy, said, “Sharp attacks by the government against the law enforcement system are a danger to Israeli democracy.”

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