Israeli media are reporting that Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli prime minister, is seriously considering signing a plea deal in the three corruption cases against him. They are citing unnamed sources close to Netanyahu as not denying the possibility but also not specifically confirming that a plea deal is in play. Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit is stepping down from his position on February 1; future A-Gs are unlikely to proffer a deal.
Meanwhile, former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak confirmed in an interview on Saturday with Ynet that he agreed to Netanyahu’s request to help mediate a deal with Mandelblit.
Mandelblit reportedly has conditioned any plea deal on allowing the court to rule on whether Netanyahu should be found to have acted with moral turpitude, which would ban him from public office for seven years. Netanyahu wants to be able to remain in politics. This requirement of Mandelblit is currently the subject of informal negotiations between representatives of Netanyahu and the attorney-general, according to reports.
Netanyahu’s defense attorneys, Boaz Ben-Zur and Amit Hadad, reportedly support a plea deal in the corruption cases, known as cases 1000, 2000 and 4000.