Israeli protesters called Friday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign amid this week’s allegations that he took bribes in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cigars, champagne and jewelry.
Roughly 1,500 people were on hand for a demonstration in Tel Aviv, with many carrying signs, including one that read “Crime Minister” and others that read “Crooks Go Home” and “Bye Bye Bibi,” according to local news reports.
The crowd chanted “Liar! Liar!” when a speaker sarcastically repeated Mr. Netanyahu’s common refrain about the allegations that “there will be nothing because there is nothing,” according to The Times of Israel, which cited reporting by Agence France-Presse.
“We think the prime minister should immediately disqualify himself and resign,” said Shlomit Bar, 63, a retired music teacher, according to Reuters. “He cannot be any longer the prime minister of Israel.”
The demonstration was the first of its kind since the allegations surfaced, shaking the Israeli political landscape just weeks before Mr. Netanyahu is slated to visit Washington. U.S. officials said Friday that President Trump will host the Israeli prime minister for a meeting at the White House on March 5.
Mr. Netanyahu has angrily dismissed the allegations against him and vowed to carry on since Wednesday, when police recommended indicting him on corruption charges, claiming his acceptance of nearly $300,000 in gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan amounted to bribery.
A police report outlining the allegations said Mr. Netanyahu accepted cigars, champagne and jewelry in exchange for helping Mr. Milchan with U.S. visa matters, and for trying to legislate a generous tax break for him and promote his interests in Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu is separately alleged to have asked Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Israel’s best-selling newspaper — the Yediot Ahronot daily — for positive coverage in exchange for promoting legislation that would weaken a free newspaper that had cut into Yediot’s business.
The allegations have dealt a humiliating blow to the prime minister and sent shockwaves through Israeli politics. But it’s unclear whether police will actually level an indictment against Mr. Netanyahu, and the situation has so far fallen short of truly threatening his rule. He’s been in office since 2009 and his current term doesn’t end until next year.
According to The Associated Press, reactions to the allegations against Mr. Netanyahu have largely fallen along partisan lines, with nearly all of the prime minister’s cabinet ministers having issued statements of support, and his coalition partners having all signaled they will stick by him, for now.
“Let me reassure you: The coalition is stable. No one, not I and no one else, plans to go to elections. We will continue to work together with you for the people of Israel until the end of our term,” Mr. Netanyahu told a gathering of local officials in Tel Aviv at midweek, according to the AP.
The police report outlining allegations against him “is biased, extreme, full of holes like Swiss cheese and doesn’t hold water,” the prime minister said.
Reuters, meanwhile, cited the results of a poll aired Wednesday on the Israeli commercial television channel Reshet, which found 49 percent of respondents siding with police claims that Mr. Netanyahu acted improperly, while 25 percent said they believed Mr. Netanyahu. The remainder, 26 percent, said they did not know whom to believe.
The poll also found 49 percent of respondents saying Mr. Netanyahu should stay in office, while 43 percent said he should suspend himself.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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