Netanyahu looks for a way out of corruption trial

JERUSALEM - A Jerusalem district court on Tuesday turned down a request by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone the opening of his corruption trial next week, a published ruling said.

Amit Haddad, one of Netanyahu's lawyers, had said he would seek a delay in the start of the trial. He said the request was “technical” and meant to give the defense time to review investigative materials that it still has not received.

The scheduled March 17 trial date looms as Netanyahu and his right-wing allies try to form a government in the face of fierce opposition, following last week's general election, the third in under a year.

Lawyers for Netanyahu, the first Israeli premier to be indicted in office, had told the Jerusalem district court they had not received all the prosecution's case material and asked for a 45-day delay. State prosecutors responded that they oppose any delays and the court accepted their position.

"The forthcoming hearing is for the reading (of the charges) only," said the court decision.

"A response to the charges by the accused is not required at this stage," it said, adding there was therefore insufficient grounds to justify a delay.

Netanyahu has been indicted on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust in separate cases including allegedly receiving improper gifts and offering a media mogul lucrative regulatory changes in exchange for positive news coverage.

The prime minister has denied the allegations and says he is the victim of a media-orchestrated witch hunt.

Netanyahu, who is Israel's longest-serving leader, is desperate to remain in office because installing a new government would give him an important political boost and potentially allow him to legislate his way out of his legal quagmire.

In the March 2 election, Netanyahu's Likud won the most votes by any one party, but even with its allies fell three seats short of the 61 needed for a majority in the parliament, or Knesset. His legal troubles stood at the center the third inconclusive Israeli election in less than a year.

'Part of the equation'

While the most straightforward way out of the deadlock in each of the previous rounds was a unity government, Israeli political parties have grown increasingly acrimonious toward each other with each campaign.

On Tuesday, members of Netanyahu's Likud Party abstained from a procedural vote meant to approve the official election results, citing their demand for a recount of hundreds of ballots that are in contention. Netanyahu's chief opponent Benny Gantz's Blue and White party said the move set a “dangerous precedent” that damaged the legitimacy of the country's elections commission.

Gantz has refused to sit with Netanyahu in government and appears poised to push for legislation in the incoming parliament that would bar anyone indicted of a crime being able to lead a government.

The anti-Netanyahu forces in the new incoming parliament command a 62-58 majority but are deeply divided among themselves. Gantz and the smaller Yisrael Beitenu party, led by Netanyahu ally-turned-nemesis Avigdor Lieberman, have agreed to cooperate to form a government. But members of Lieberman's ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu is opposed to participation by the Palestinian Arab-led Joint List, another member of the anti-Netanyahu coalition that Lieberman has previously branded a "fifth column".

The Joint List, for its part, has said it would never enter into government with Lieberman. Gantz had ruled out partnership with the Joint List but seems to have left the door open after Blue and White said in a statement he would form a government to "serve all of Israel’s citizens, Jews and Arabs alike." But Gantz himself was accused of racism during the campaign for upping his use of rhetoric hostile to Palestinians, in a bid to woo more Jewish voters.

Netanyahu, in addition to defiantly insisting that he won the election, has accused Gantz of trying to “steal the elections” by aligning with Arab-led parties. While on the campaign trail, Netanyahu said the Joint List should not even be “part of the equation” of Israeli electoral politics, drawing new charges of racism from Palestinians and his other political opponents.

Netanyahu is hoping that some members of other parties might defect to his bloc, giving him the majority required to form a government.

Israel's president Reuven Rivlin will soon begin consultations with the elected parties to determine who to tap as prime minister-designate, typically the leader of the largest party and in this case Netanyahu. But if Gantz seems like he would be more likely to form a functioning government, Rivlin could still choose to go with him.

If the deadlock continues, Israel could see itself heading toward a fourth straight election, which experts say would have disastrous effects on the public's confidence in their elected officials and electoral system.