Israeli prosecutors recommend indicting PM for bribery

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli State Prosecutor's Office has recommended the indictment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged bribery in two separate corruption cases, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday.

Netanyahu will also likely be charged for breach of trust in a third corruption probe.

According to State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan, once the prosecution team completes its assessment, the attorney-general's office will begin deliberations on whether or not to pursue both cases.

“The complex ethical and legal issues that arise from these cases [will be] based on the opinions he will hear in order to make a decision," Nitzan was quoted as saying.

The first case for which the authorities are recommending indictment involves Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who was allegedly asked to purchase luxury items for Netanyahu and his wife.

The second involves allegations that Netanyahu intervened with regulators to help telecom firm Bezeq secure a deal worth some 1 billion Israeli shekels in return for favorable coverage on the company’s news site.

According to Israeli media reports, the attorney general’s office will issue a final decision on both cases in March of next year.

A third case in which Netanyahu faces possible indictment involves an alleged deal -- again for favorable media coverage -- with Arnon Mozes, publisher of popular Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, for its part, has consistently denied the charges against Netanyahu.

“We are certain that an examination of the evidence while ignoring the background noises will prove that there's nothing [to the allegations]," the PM’s office said in a statement.