Officials from the Attorney General's office and the State Attorney's Office and the defense team representing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were wrapping up on Monday the pre-indictment hearing in three cases of alleged corruption involving the prime minister.
Netanyahu's lawyers arrived at the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem for the fourth and final day of the proceedings, where they were meeting with Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit and his team to appeal that the cases against Netanyahu be dropped.
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Mendelblit has recommended that Netanyahu be indicted on counts that include fraud, breach of trust and bribery in three separate cases. The hearing is the final step before the attorney general decides whether to issue a formal indictment.
The allegations against Netanyahu include suspicions that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends; offered to trade favors with a newspaper publisher, and used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favorable coverage on a popular news site.
Netanyahu has called the allegations part of a witch hunt, lashing out against the media, police, prosecutors and the justice system. The attorney general is expected to render his final decision by the end of the year.
