Netanyahu Talks to Family Lawyers Regarding Plea Deal

In recent news, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the opposition had a meeting with his family members and lawyers to talk about the plea deal. The entire conversation revolved around whether or not the former Prime Minister should accept the deal on the table in lieu of his ongoing criminal trial. As per sources, Netanyahu attended the meeting at the home of his lawyer, Boaz Ben Zur. Sara, his wife, as well as his sons, Avner and Yair, were also present at the meeting. It was further discovered that the meeting was attended by another one of the former Prime Minister’s attorneys, namely Amit Hadad, along with Yossi Cohen, the family lawyer, and Natan Eshel, a longtime friend and confidant of the family. 

The sources also revealed that Sara Netanyahu had previously been in support of the plea deal. However, at the most recent meeting held late on Monday, she firmly stated that she was against it. The sons of the opposition leader also voiced their concerns regarding the deal and sided with their mother. A report surfaced of the meeting added that the wife of the former Prime Minister was opposed to the plea deal on the grounds of it being proposed by Avichai Mandelblit, the Attorney-General. In her opinion, it should not be up to a ‘bureaucrat’, such as the AG, to decide on the conditions or comment on the matter. 

The report also added that Sara Netanyahu believed that her husband has no reason to take the plea deal. She believes that he should not have to abandon public office and maintains that the opposition leader is innocent of all the crimes he is being accused of. The lawyers representing the former Prime Minister, however, believe that he should take the plea deal being offered. It was reported that throughout the meeting, they made several attempts to convince Netanyahu to sign the agreement and accept its consequences. 

Later on Sunday night, another report revealed that since Mandelblit is close to the end of his term, it is highly unlikely that this current deal, much rather a new one, would be sealed before then. A source close to the AG said that there is little to no chance of this deal being accepted by the opposition leader. This is primarily because it involves the opposition leader admitting that there had been attempts to bribe him in one of the three cases that he is being charged in. Sources related to Mandelblit further added that it is difficult to resolve the indictments in the cases related to the former Prime Minister in time. 

Furthermore, it is believed that Netanyahu would never accept moral turpitude, as it would prevent him from running for public office for the next seven years. According to sources in the office of the AG, there are also numerous details to figure out in the clause of moral turpitude alone. In addition, there were two additional clauses relayed to breach of trust and fraud, which consist of several key details as well.