Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision Thursday recommending the indictment of Netanyahu, pending a hearing at which he can present his defense, came just six weeks before the general election set for April 9. The first opinion polls taken since Israel’s attorney general recommended Netanyahu’s indictment showed the prime minister taking a small but significant knock in his bid for reelection, as his main rival gained. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit attends an event at the presidential compound in Jerusalem on July 19, 2017. In the case of former prime minister Ehud Olmert, seven years passed after the initial announcement of his indictment on corruption charges before he exhausted his appeals and was jailed. Olmert, however, had stepped down as prime minister before the attorney general announced a decision to indict.

Source: Washington Post March 01, 2019 14:33 UTC