Reports suggest Netanyahu plea deal looking less likely

18 January 2022, 9:21 pm

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Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in his ongoing corruption trial, on November 22, 2021. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)

Reports aired on Channels 12 and 13 indicate that a plea deal in the ongoing corruption trial of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking less likely, as the sides continue to dig in their heels.

According to Channel 13, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is attuned to the heavy criticism among both the public and within the legal system over such a deal, and is refusing to consider any deal that would not include a charge of “moral turpitude” — which would bar Netanyahu from politics for seven years.

The Kan public broadcaster, meanwhile, says that while negotiations did not move forward today, Netanyahu is still interested in a plea bargain and willing to discuss the potential of a moral turpitude conviction.