Netanyahu ‘negotiating plea deal’

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to finalising negotiations over a plea deal in his corruption trial, local media has reported, in a move that could oust the long-time leader from politics but may keep him out of jail.

People familiar with the matter suggest that ‘‘Bibi’’ could be expected to sign the deal within the coming days.

In three separate cases, Netanyahu – who denies any wrongdoing – is on trial for fraud, breaching trust and accepting bribes.

In one he is alleged to have received gifts worth nearly US$300,000 (NZ$440,000) from two wealthy friends.

Another alleges that Netanyahu solicited favourable coverage of himself in a quid-proquid agreement with the publisher of one of Israel’s biggest newspapers in exchange for pushing forward legislation that would harm the publisher’s main competitor.

The owner of the organisation denies the charges.

In the heftiest of the charges, case 4000, Netanyahu is accused of abusing his powers as prime minister by promoting legislation that

was worth hundreds of million dollars to media giant Bezeq in exchange for positive coverage. Bezeq have denied any wrongdoing.

The current negotiations for the plea deal are expected to drop the bribery and fraud charges as well as scrap one of the cases entirely, according to AP. This would remove the most serious charges against the former premier, save him from continuing an embarrassing trial and reportedly see any jail sentence commuted down to community service.

The main issue in the deal that reportedly remains unresolved is whether Netanyahu will be made to admit to ‘‘moral turpitude’’, a charge that would likely end his political career as one of the kingpins of Israeli politics.

Under Israeli law, a charge of moral turpitude would ban the 72-year-old from Israeli politics for seven years, making him almost 80 when he will next be able to carry out his vow to make a comeback after his defeat last year.

As Netanyahu desperately tried to avoid the charge, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was said to be steadfast in his decision that there was no other option.

As well as ending one of the most turbulent careers in Israeli politics, the charge would trigger a leadership race within the Likud party with some analysts predicting that the antiNetanyahu coalition that was cobbled together to end his reign over the country could fall apart.

Several Right-wing parties refused to join a coalition with Likud while Netanyahu was at the helm, leaving the possibility of them joining forces to form a Right-wing government and toppling the ideologically diverse coalition that currently governs.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett rejected such claims in a cabinet meeting on Sunday morning, saying that the government would continue to work quietly every day for the citizens of Israel.

Reacting to the reports, health minister Nitzan Horowitz slammed the possible plea deal on Twitter, saying ‘‘no-one endangered the rule of law in Israel more than Netanyahu’’.