Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu now faces the greatest dilemma of his political life. Should he sign a document to be written up by his lawyers and the State Attorney's Office, it will bring an end to his public life and this time for good. This is not how or when he wanted to go. It's reasonable to assume that if he continues to believe he will be able to return to the Prime Minister's Office in the coming years before his trial wraps up, he will not sign a deal. If he signs, he will appear to have reached the conclusion that the odds of him serving as prime minister in the foreseeable future are not in his favor. The plea deal being negotiated has shown Netanyahu that for many of his supporters, this is not a matter of blind adoration and not all of his decisions will be embraced.
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Ever since reports the sides were close to sealing a deal emerged, the Netanyahu camp has been divided. There are those who demand Netanyahu continue to fight regardless of the personal price he is made to pay. The justice and law enforcement systems must be cleaned up and those who started the job must finish it, they say. The only way to do this is to go through with the trial without looking for any shortcuts or relief. To their mind, it is only a ringing acquittal, at least of the main suspects, that will give the State Attorney's Office and the attorney general the difficult blow necessary to correct the current status and make the next blow that much easier and swifter.
On the other hand, there are Netanyahu supporters who believe the legal system's situation to be so grave that the former premier could not possibly stand a chance of being acquitted of all charges. After all, all it would take is being charged with fraud or breach of trust to send him to prison. That is why, they believe, this is an entirely personal decision and one that should be made not by Netanyahu the leader but Netanyahu the family man, together with his wife, his sons, and his attorneys.
To the former, a plea deal would be a difficult blow. They truly believe that Netanyahu can clear out the corruption. They are not impressed by the fact that Netanyahu did not touch these issues for a decade nor that Former Chief Justice Aharon Barak statement saying Netanyahu was one of the great defenders of the Israeli justice system until this trial. To them, Netanyahu's trial is their trial. They may not go to prison or face conviction, but the values and beliefs represented by Netanyahu will receive an equally painful blow, and their support for Netanyahu is conditioned on him going through with the trial until the very end.
Should Netanyahu retire as a result of an indictment, this will shock the political system and the current coalition, but the greatest changes will first and foremost be seen in the Likud movement. One of the first decisions the next leader, whoever they are, will have to make is how the party plans to treat the sensitive issue of the justice system.
The decision on the party's new stance on the justice system could divide the Likud party. Many of its lawmakers will refuse to halt their struggle against the justice system and will demand efforts continue to be made to amend it. By adhering to this line, they will not only set the next party leader up as a challenger to the law enforcement system, they will also place them in opposition to coalition partners whom they will try to attract within the framework of the current government's dissolution.
As Likud MK Ofir Akunis told party activists Saturday: "This is not the time for battles of succession. The meetings, the polling, the statements to registered Likud voters are not only inappropriate at this time, but they are also doing serious damage to the movement. Let's be people first.
"This is not an easy time for the chairman or for the movement. We need to support him now and not focus on who will replace him," he said.
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