US says police recommendations against PM an ‘internal matter’

State Department notes Washington ‘has a very strong relationship not only with Netanyahu, but also the Israeli Government’

By ToI Staff 14 February 2018, 6:07 am Edit
US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert speaks to reporters during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on July 27, 2017 (screen capture)
US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert speaks to reporters during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on July 27, 2017 (screen capture)

The US said Tuesday it considered police’s recommendations to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges “an internal Israeli matter.”

“The only thing I have to say about that is that the United States has a very strong relationship not only with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but also the Israeli Government,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said during a daily press briefing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on February 11, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / POOL / RONEN ZVULUN)

“We’re certainly aware of it, but we consider it to be an internal Israeli matter.”

Israeli police said Tuesday they were recommending Netanyahu be indicted for a series of corruption charges including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

The recommendations include indictments for bribery in both Case 1000 and Case 2000, as they have been dubbed. A decision to press formal charges against the veteran premier now rests with the attorney general’s office, which is expected to take months to decide how to proceed.

 

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