Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit on Thursday after the latter said he would not postpone a pre-indictment hearing dealing with ongoing investigations against him.
"This is the definition of injustice," Netanyahu said after Mendelblit informed his lawyers that he had rejected his request to hold the hearing only after he swears in a new government in late 2019.
Several months ago Mendelblit released a report laying out the charges against Netanyahu in three corruption cases, saying he would make a final decision on an indictment after Netanyahu appeared for a hearing.
The charges include allegations that he accepted gifts from billionaire friends and promoted beneficial regulations for a telecom magnate in exchange for positive coverage on a news site.
Netanyahu's lawyers and Mendelblit set the hearing for October, but last week the Knesset dissolved unexpectedly after the collapse of coalition talks and a new election was called for Sept. 17, less than six months after Israelis went to the polls and gave Netanyahu and his right-wing allies a clear mandate to lead the country again.
"Because of the unprecedented situation in which a new election is being imposed on us, law enforcement should show flexibility on the date of the hearing," Netanyahu said, citing other cases in which subjects of corruption investigations were given extra time in light of changing circumstances.
