Bennett Downplays Netanyahu Plea Deal’s Effect on Gov’t Stability

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday sought to downplay the possible effects of a plea deal in the corruption trial of his predecessor Binyamin Netanyahu on the stability of his government.

“To all the political commentators working out their graphs and scenarios, rest assured, the Israeli government is working and acting for the sake of its citizens,” he said.

Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. He denies any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of a politically orchestrated “witch hunt” by the media and the left to oust him from office.

He was ousted from the prime minister’s office after a coalition of parties opposing him succeeded in forming a government without his Likud party last June.

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman also spoke against the plea deal with Netanyahu on Kan Radio on Sunday morning, saying that such a deal would be “unjust.” He said his confidante, former Yisrael Beytenu deputy minister Faina Kirschenbaum, was given a ten-year jail sentence for crimes “less severe than those of which Netanyahu is accused.”