Netanyahu: I will continue to lead the country in face of an attempted coup by the law enforcement arm
PM Binyamin Netanyahu sharply rebutted the Attorney General Amihai Mandlblit’s decision to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of faith. He accused law enforcement authorities of conducting “a polluted, tendentious inquiry” designed to set him up personally “or removal as prime minister.” Netanyahu vowed he would continue to lead the country unless forced out by a High Court petition. He accused the police and prosecution systems of years of legal abuse, citing examples. The people have lost faith in the law enforcement authorities, he said. They deserve a decent, law-abiding system, and demanded that an external, nonpartisan commission of inquiry investigate the investigators and clean up the system.
Mandelblit earlier laid out in a public press conference his reasoning for deciding to indict the prime minister, saying he did so with a heavy heart but in full conviction that he was performing his duty.
Netanyahu fired back by charging police investigators backed by chief prosecutor Shay Nitzan of building their case against him by extorting lying admissions from witnesses by threats against their families. They should be brought to trial.
