Denying the three corruption charges levelled against him, Benjamin Netanyahu cited the legal procedure while asserting that the law doesn't require him to step aside before any hearing
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that he would not resign even if he is indicted by the attorney general under one or any of the corruption charges levelled against him.
Denying the three corruption charges levelled against him, Netanyahu cited the legal procedure while asserting that the law doesn't require him to step aside before any hearing. "Israel is a country of law, and the law does not require that a prime minister resigns during the process of a hearing," the Prime Minister added. "The hearing doesn't end until my side is heard. And therefore it is not logical to open a hearing process before elections if you can't finish it before elections," he said.
"Imagine what happens if you oust a prime minister before the end of the hearing process, and at the end of the hearing, it is decided to close the case. That would be absurd, and a terrible blow to democracy," Netanyahu added. Meanwhile, if Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit of Israel's High Court of Justice indicts Netanyahu in graft charges, the later would still be entitled to defend himself at a hearing before formal charges are filed. However, the attorney general is yet to confirm whether he would be acting upon the graft case before the general elections scheduled to be held in April.
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