Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the police probe against him is "like Swiss cheese" full of holes, emphasizing that the truth would eventually come out.
He stated that his government is stable and no early election is being planned.
Despite the fact that it’s the attorney general who will make a decision based on the recommendations, the opposition has already hailed the “end of Netanyahu.”
While Labor Party Chairman Avi Gabbay suggested that “the Netanyahu era was over,” either at the ballot box or through investigation, Netanyahu’s fellow Likud party member, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said that the recommendation “exposed a coup against the voters.”
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon also supported the Prime Minister in a Facebook post, saying that only the attorney general could make a decision regarding an indictment and urged people to stop attacking the police and the rule of law, Haaretz reported.
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Education Minister Naftali Bennet failed to comment on the matter, but noted that the coalition wouldn’t dissolve over cigars and champagne.
Addressing the public, Benjamin Netanyahu said that all his life he served his country not for “cigars from a friend, not for positive media coverage,” but for love of country.
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"These recommendations have no weight in a democratic society," Netanayhu said, adding that he will "continue to lead Israel responsibly and faithfully."
"Great efforts have been taken to open no fewer than 15 investigations and probes to remove me from power. All of them started off as breaking news, some of them with shocking police recommendations," said the prime minister. "Every single one of these attempts, without exception, led to nothing. I know the truth, so I can tell you, this time it will also lead to nothing. The authorities will not accept half of the police's recommendations, and they will lead to nothing.”
The two cases are so-called Case 1000, in which the Prime Minister is suspected of accepting overly expensive gifts from wealthy business leaders in exchange for advancing their interests, and the Case 2000, alleging that Netanyahu attempted to seal a deal with one of the largest Israeli newspapers to provide less critical coverage of him.
