Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may form government despite corruption case

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a government despite the corruption case against him, the Israeli court decided on Wednesday. The court believes that Netanyahu should be treated as innocent until proven otherwise.

The court, which consists of eleven judges, sees no legal ground for banning Netanyahu from participating in the new government. Also, participation in the new unity coalition with his political rival Benny Gantz would not protect him in his corruption case.

In April, Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party and Gantz of center party Kahol Lavan signed an agreement to form an emergency government to fight the corona virus. Previous talks for a coalition have stalled and elections in April 2019, September 2019, and March 2020 could not change that.

Netanyahu and Gantz take turns to become prime ministers. Netanyahu takes over the first eighteen months and then hands over power to Gantz. The new government should be sworn in next week.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was officially charged in January in three corruption cases. He is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu denies having done anything wrong.

Louise Roth is the youngest member of WeeklyNewsReview team. Despite the young age Louise is interested in serious topics. Her main interests and education is all about economics and politics. But in our team she is the most productive do-it-all member, so she has to write on a variety of topics.