Zionist PM Faces Court, Party Challenges After Indictment
WEST BANK (Dispatches) – A watchdog group has asked the Zionist regime’s top court to order Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step aside after his indictment on corruption charges, adding to pressure he is facing from within his ruling party.
Netanyahu, a four-term conservative leader, has denied the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and said he will stay in office and defend himself.
His indictment on Thursday came amid unprecedented political disarray in the occupied territories, after elections in April and September in which neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz, secured a governing majority in parliament.
In its petition to the Supreme Court, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel said the first-ever criminal charges against a sitting Zionist prime minister constituted "the crossing of a red line and a grave blow to public trust in ruling institutions”.
The court should force Netanyahu to resign or temporarily recuse himself from prime ministerial duties, the movement said. It was not immediately clear when the court might rule on the petition.
Gantz’s mandate to form a government - after an unsuccessful attempt by Netanyahu to do so - expired on Wednesday. The next day, the Zionist president declared a three-week period in which lawmakers can nominate one of their own to try to put together a ruling coalition.
Should that fail, a new election – the regime’s third in a year - will be triggered.
On Saturday night, Gantz, called on the Zionist premier to step down, but still offered to form a coalition administration with his Likud political party if there are any chances.
"In light of the circumstances, I call to form a unity administration that is as broad as possible under my leadership,” Gantz said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
He added, "I will be prime minister for the first two years while Netanyahu can work on his legal issues. If he is acquitted, he can come back and be prime minister.”
Hundreds of demonstrators staged a rally to call on Netanyahu to leave office.
Protesters chanted "Bibi go home,” and waved signs reading: "Netanyahu, let go already,” "Netanyahu, you should quit,” and "The corrupt should go home.”
"The victory is yet to come. What you see here is absurd. We have a man who is charged with three major crimes. And he still believes he wants to be [a] prime minister. I mean this is crazy,” a protester said.
"Bibi [Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] should have resigned yesterday. All he wants to do is war, internal and external. He is not a leader. He is the head of the mafia,” another demonstrator said.
Netanyahu, a four-term conservative leader, has denied the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and said he will stay in office and defend himself.
His indictment on Thursday came amid unprecedented political disarray in the occupied territories, after elections in April and September in which neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz, secured a governing majority in parliament.
In its petition to the Supreme Court, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel said the first-ever criminal charges against a sitting Zionist prime minister constituted "the crossing of a red line and a grave blow to public trust in ruling institutions”.
The court should force Netanyahu to resign or temporarily recuse himself from prime ministerial duties, the movement said. It was not immediately clear when the court might rule on the petition.
Gantz’s mandate to form a government - after an unsuccessful attempt by Netanyahu to do so - expired on Wednesday. The next day, the Zionist president declared a three-week period in which lawmakers can nominate one of their own to try to put together a ruling coalition.
Should that fail, a new election – the regime’s third in a year - will be triggered.
On Saturday night, Gantz, called on the Zionist premier to step down, but still offered to form a coalition administration with his Likud political party if there are any chances.
"In light of the circumstances, I call to form a unity administration that is as broad as possible under my leadership,” Gantz said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
He added, "I will be prime minister for the first two years while Netanyahu can work on his legal issues. If he is acquitted, he can come back and be prime minister.”
Hundreds of demonstrators staged a rally to call on Netanyahu to leave office.
Protesters chanted "Bibi go home,” and waved signs reading: "Netanyahu, let go already,” "Netanyahu, you should quit,” and "The corrupt should go home.”
"The victory is yet to come. What you see here is absurd. We have a man who is charged with three major crimes. And he still believes he wants to be [a] prime minister. I mean this is crazy,” a protester said.
"Bibi [Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] should have resigned yesterday. All he wants to do is war, internal and external. He is not a leader. He is the head of the mafia,” another demonstrator said.