JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s attorney general is expected to make a decision by next month on whether to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in three corruption investigations.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported Sunday, citing a source close to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, that he would make the decision in February. National elections are scheduled for April 9; Netanyahu is favored to win another term.
Mandelblit did not comment on the report.
“It’s no secret that we’re trying to work as quickly as possible,” he told Haaretz, and a decision would “in no way [come] at the expense of professionalism.”
Netanyahu has said he would not step down if called to a pre-indictment hearing in order to defend himself against the charges. He also has said that “It’s inconceivable that a hearing against me will be launched before the election and it will end after it.”
Haaretz reported that Mandelblit has received backing from senior Justice Ministry officials and his predecessors for his work to make a decision before the election.
