Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had originally hoped to enter a plea agreement on the corruption charges brought against him, has reportedly been notified by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that this won’t be possible, according to Axios.
“In recent days, false claims have been published in the media about things I allegedly agreed to, for instance the claim I agreed to moral turpitude. That is simply incorrect,” Netanyahu said, according to AFP.
Mandelblit and Netanyahu had been discussing a deal that would have kept him out of prison and seen him banned from politics for seven years. But Netanyahu broke his silence on the plea talks after they collapsed, and he said a seven-year ban would be unacceptable.
Netanyahu has maintained that he will stay on as the opposition leader of the Likud party, which had prompted intraparty fighting over his possibly taking the deal. But in light of an ongoing trial, several key witnesses are slated to testify in the coming weeks, which could make a plea deal harder to reach.
via newsmax
Netanyahu Denies Agreeing to Plea Deal to Force Him From Politics: Report
