bY Ashley Obel/TPS
JERUSALEM—Israel’s governing coalition remains relatively stable despite police submitting recommendations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu face corruption charges in two separate cases, Hebrew University political scientist Abraham Diskin said Wednesday.
“I would say something very very dramatic happened, there’s no question about it, it’s a kind of earthquake but as far as changes in the political arena, I don’t see that yet,” Diskin said in a conference call with The Israel Project (TIP).
“From a political point of view we see that actually all the members of the present coalition support Netanyahu, whether that’s because they believe that he shouldn’t be indicted or because of political considerations,” he added.
Diskin said that in his opinion Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s centrist Kulanu party was unlikely to abandon the coalition and trigger early elections as it would very likely result in fewer seats for the party in the next Knesset.
“Kahlon’s party, Kulanu, is not doing so well in public opinion polls” Diskin said, “And if you decide not to support the prime minister and definitely trigger early elections, well their prospects are not very promising from Kahlon’s point of view,” he said.
Diskin added that while the Kahlon-Netanyahu relationship had known ups and downs, the pair had just passed a first reading of the budget in the Knesset, so again Kahlon had no interest in “inflaming the situation” at the moment.
Furthermore, he added that for the moment there is no pressing legal imperative on Kahlon as the recommendations submitted by the Israel Police on Tuesday do not necessarily mean that Netanyahu will even be indicted, and even if the Attorney General does indeed choose to indict the embattled Prime Minister, the Supreme Court would still have the final say in the matter as per Israeli law.
“The Prime Minister has to resign only after there is a final decision of the court,” Diskin said.
Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called on the Attorney General that investigate charges made by police chief Roni Alsheich on the investigative journalism TV show Uvda last week that private investigators had been hired to follow police officers investigation the Netanyahu files.
“It keeps me up at night, I call on the Attorney General not to leave the issue hanging in the air,” Erdan said.
Addressing the Knesset, Erdan added that while he fully supports the police – who are under his ministry’s command – following the recommendation to indict Netanyahu, the prime minister is “innocent until proven guilty” and only the Attorney General can determine whether or not he should stand trial
“The police submitted their recommendations and their job in this matter is effectively over,” Erdan said. “Neither the public, nor the media or the politicians will be the ones that will determine [whether or not Netanyahu will stand trial], but as is the case with elected officials, only the Attorney General’s decision will determine if there is enough evidence to serve an indictment.”
Netanyahu said Wednesday that the police recommendation to indict him on two counts of graft was “as full of holes as Swiss cheese,” and repeated his assertion that the governing coalition would complete its current term, scheduled to expire by November, 2019.
Speaking at to the annual Council for Local Government conference at the Tel Aviv Convention Center, Netanyah said he would continue “to work on behalf of Israel” and that nobody in the coalition has any plans to remove him from power. He added that the recommendations were “extreme” and “faulty”, and repeated his oft-stated assurance that nothing would come of the legal process against him because no crimes had been committed.
“The recommendation, ignores or even blurs the very close friendship I share with Milchan – and that gifts were given in both directions. It also blows up the sums involved beyond all recognition. The numbers (that the police are reporting) have nothing to do with me.
“Most importantly, they ignore – as do all the commentators (in the media) – that I have worked against Milchan’s interests not on behalf of them,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also attacked Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid, who will reportedly be a witness in Case 1,000, noting that Lapid also maintains a close friendship with Milchan and has vowed to bring down Netanyahu “at any cost. In Case 1,000, the prime minister allegedly accepted gifts from the billionaire Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and promoted his interests in several instances.
The Prime minister said: ”Netanyahu said : ”This is the same Lapid who is also close friends with Milchan. There is nothing wrong with that, but he is also a close friend. He was employed by Milchan and discussed Milchan’s affairs with him when he was finance minister in charge about Milchan’s affairs – that is to say, he did not recuse himself from dealing with Milchan’s affairs.
“Think what would have happened if I had done something like that. I would have been interrogated under warning seven times…the moment Lapid says the magic word ‘Netanyahu’ the world turns upside down. I get indictment recommendations, and Lapid is applauded,” Netanyahu said.
Lapid hit back at attacks leveled at him by members of Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud.“I heard the prime minister and his gang, including the chairman of the coalition [David Amsalem] and several ministers who had the gaul to infer yesterday that there is any other option but to tell the police the truth when you are asked to assist them in uncovering information in a grave corruption investigation. This is how criminals talk,”Lapid said after Amsalem called him a ‘miserable snitch’ over the Knesset podium.
“I want to say to them from here,’ Lapid continued, ‘you will not threaten us. We cannot be threatened. We will not let you lead the country to a place where honest people are afraid to tell the truth.
“A few months ago the police summoned me to come and testify in Case 1000. Like any other law abiding citizen who is asked to aid the police in investigating the truth, I went and answered any questions they had,” Lapid said.
Despite recommendations by the Israeli police to indict the premier for bribery and breach of trust, his poll numbers are rising.
According to poll results released by Channel 2 News on Wednesday, Netanyahu’s Likud Party would gain one Knesset seat and rise to 26 from 25 in the last poll. The closest competitor, Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, would drop two seats, from 24 to 22.