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Israeli attorney general to decide on Netanyahu charges

Jerusalem - Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit issued an indictment charging Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and bribery.

Israel's attorney general on Thursday formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, throwing the country's paralysed political system into further disarray and threatening the long-time leader's grip on power.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit charged Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three different scandals. It is the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.
Allegations against Netanyahu include suspicions he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered to trade favors with a newspaper publisher and used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favorable coverage on a popular news site.
The indictment does not require Netanyahu to resign but is expected to raise pressure on him to step down. Netanyahu has called the allegations part of a witch hunt, lashing out against the media, police, prosecutors and the justice system.