Mandelblit: Netanyahu could yet have to suspend himself due to conflict of interest

Speaking to the ultra-Orthodox Mishpacha magazine, Attorney General Avichai Mandeblit refuses to rule out the possibility that Prime Minister Netanyahu may have to suspend himself as PM due to the criminal cases he is currently facing in court

Mandelblit says Netanyahu could, in theory, have to suspend himself due to a conflict of interest.

“When he [the prime minister] uses his governmental power [to interfere in the criminal cases], it must not be allowed,” Mandelblit says in recordings released by Channel 12 news of an interview set to be published tomorrow.

Earlier this month, Mandelblit was reported to be holding talks with senior officials about the possibility of requiring Netanyahu to step down. Mandelblit’s office denied this was the case, and restated his previous position that the prime minister need not suspend himself.

According to a Haaretz report at the time, Mandelblit believes that Netanyahu’s use of government resources to push his case to the public — including calling press conferences ostensibly about the health emergency which are then used to question the reliability of law enforcement — could constitute a conflict of interest.

In the recordings of the interview, Mandelblit also says that Netanyahu’s trial needs to be dealt with quickly and would have ideally moved faster in the courts and included daily hearings rather than the currently-planned thrice weekly sessions.