As Netanyahu Investigators Close In, Some Ask: How Long Can He Hold On?
If the authorities were prepared to let Mr. Harow, who was facing trial in a case involving his private business interests, off so lightly with six months’ community service and a fine, Ms. Kadmon said, "then Netanyahu is already a dead man walking." Any actual indictment could still be many months off, and most analysts, including Ms. Kadmon, doubt
that Mr. Netanyahu, a political survivor who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, will be going anywhere soon.
that At this stage, by law, every Israeli citizen, and certainly the prime minister, must be presumed completely innocent,
Still, if the police were to recommend serious charges, like bribery, against Mr. Netanyahu, it would
be "hard to survive," Professor Medina said, because the political and public pressure would grow.
A day earlier, in a legal document pertaining to the negotiations with Mr. Harow, the police said in writing, for the first time,
that Mr. Netanyahu was suspected of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust.
The latest blow came just before the weekend, when the Israeli police signed a state’s witness deal
with Ari Harow, Mr. Netanyahu’s former chief of staff and once one of his closest confidants.
Under Israeli law, a prime minister does not have to resign even if convicted, said Prof.
Barak Medina, an expert in constitutional law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
"So he is running the state and in parallel, he is managing his legal battle." Mr. Netanyahu’s predecessor, Ehud Olmert, was released from prison
last month after serving 16 months of a 27-month term for crimes including bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice and breach of trust.
