Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said Monday that the government's announcement of early elections on April 9 will not affect his decision whether to file corruption charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The criminal investigations facing Netanyahu, known as Case 1,000, Case 2,000 and Case 4,000, are expected to cloud the campaign.
The Israeli elections were due in November 2019, but on Monday, Netanyahu, along with the heads of the coalition parties, decided to set them earlier.
Case 1,000 centers on gifts Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, allegedly received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian tycoon James Packer.
Case 2,000 focuses on an alleged deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes in which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu tone in return for the prime minister acting to curtail Yedioth rival Israel Hayom's activities to benefit Yedioth financially.
Case 4,000 revolves around allegations of a deal in which Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq, ensured positive coverage for Netanyahu in the Bezeq-owned Walla news website in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulations worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company.
The Attorney General's Office was scheduled to begin its review of the police recommendations in each case on Monday. The State Attorney's Office has backed the recommendations, which may soon result in the prime minister facing breach of trust, fraud and bribery charges.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement Monday that the review will "continue as planned" and "will not depend on political events."
"There is an orderly process to these issues and it will be followed in this case as well," the statement said.
"The State Attorney's Office will follow Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit's instruction on this matter, in accordance with pre-election prosecution and enforcement guidelines.
"These guidelines state, among other things, that investigations, reviews and indictments against elected officials will continue as usual, according to the timetable dictated by each investigation, but will be conducted with particular caution so as not to be used as means to batter political rivals."
