Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit rejected on Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request not to announce a preindictment hearing on three corruption cases until after the April 9 election.
In a letter to Netanyahu's lawyers, Mendelblit's office said that the ongoing election campaign would have no impact on the timing of the announcement and that if he concludes that the merits of the case could justify an preindictment hearing, "there would be nothing that would preclude a public statement to that effect."
Investigators have recently handed over their findings in the three corruption cases involving Netanyahu to the Justice Ministry, and according the Friday's letter, a decision on whether to go ahead with a preindictment hearing could take place as soon as mid-February.
If, as is widely expected, Mendelblit announces he would go ahead with a preindictment hearing, the decision could create a political firestorm.
Netanyahu's lawyers have argued that if Mendelblit announces his decision in the coming weeks, the actual hearing would only take place after the April 9 election, denying the prime minister the opportunity to clear his name before a final decision on an indictment is made.
But in Friday's letter, Mendelblit's office stressed that that delaying a decision would could be interpreted as political bias and thus rejected the PM's request to accommodate the timing of his decision to electoral considerations. The letter further stressed that the decision would be based strictly on the merits of the case.
The criminal investigations facing Netanyahu, known as Case 1,000, Case 2,000 and Case 4,000, are expected to cloud the campaign. Case 1,000 centers on expensive 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.
Netanyahu's lawyers leveled harsh criticism on the attorney general on Thursday after the details of the letter leaked. "The attorney general has apparently buckled under the pressure from the Left and the media to indict Netanyahu at any price and before the election," they said in a statement.
"In fact, today we asked that the attorney general interview more than 60 additional people that were never approached by investigators, as this would make the cases more complete, but the State Attorney's Office was in a rush to leak the decision that it would not summon those critical witnesses. The most consequential decision in Israeli legal history now boils down to several days."
