Israel Elex 2019: Arab-Israelis and Netanyahu's Legal Woes

34Likes

10,488Views

2019Jan 8

DAILY DOSE | Netanyahu promised a dramatic announcement, but it was an overtly political speech. An Israeli-Arab Muslim woman is running for Israeli parliament with the Likud Party. Likud candidate Dima Tayeh and our Mike Wagenheim discuss with host Jeff Smith. Story: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered what his Likud party originally announced as a 'dramatic' statement to the nation Monday evening but quickly corrected to 'important' as he defended himself against the corruption probes embroiling him ahead of the snap elections in April. 'Citizens of Israel, this evening I will reveal to you information that you did not know to prove the extent to which the investigation against me is biased,' Netanyahu said, before laying out his claims. The prime minister took the opportunity to call out the legal systems in Israel that he claimed were being used to perpetrate an injustice against him, decrying that he was twice refused the ability to confront the state witnesses in the cases. 'Today, I reveal to you that during my investigations, I demanded a face-to-face confrontation with states witnesses. I was refused. I asked again. I was refused again,' he told his captive national audience. Reiterating the request, Netanyahu renewed his call, adding that he was ready to engage in a confrontation with the witnesses on air. 'Today, I repeat that demand, and as far as I am concerned, it should be on live television.' He also claimed that key witnesses who could refute the allegations against him were not called. The Ministry of Justice immediately responded to Netanyahu’s statement, defending its process and saying that it was inappropriate to discuss the investigations publicly. 'It is inappropriate for law enforcement authorities to relate to the investigative activities and the testimonies in the media, certainly not at this stage,' the ministry said defending itself. Police authorities responded by saying that Netanyahu’s confronting witnesses would have been unproductive, claiming there was substantial evidence outside of the their testimonies. 'We have enough evidence and documents to strengthen the evidence in the case. We are not talking about a specific incident at a given time, in a given place, or something similar to someone’s word versus somebody else’s word. A confrontation would not have changed the general picture in this case,' they said according to the Israeli news website Ynet. Opposition figures harshly criticized the statement as a stunt and said it was time for Netanyahu to be defeated. 'In a normal country, a prime minister does not behave this way. In a normal country, the prime minister does not attack the law enforcement authorities,' Labor leader Avi Gabbay said following Netanyahu’s primetime statement. 'Instead of dealing with the security of the residents of the south, the cost of living, or the health system collapsing, Netanyahu is busy rescuing himself from the investigations.' 'Netanyahu is no longer qualified to fulfill his role,' opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich said, calling the speech a 'fake drama'. The prime minister has faced widespread criticism in recent days for his efforts to publicly urge the attorney general not to issue his decision on indictments before the elections. In his Monday speech, he said he has the right to criticize the legal proceedings and again argued that the attorney general moving to indict him before elections would be unjust. If the attorney general does so, Netanyahu would be entitled to a pre-indictment hearing as a last chance to defend himself before charges are filed, and he says such a hearing would never be completed before the elections. Under Netanyahu's argument, the elections would then be held without him having sufficient time to defend himself. Many analysts say Netanyahu pushed for snap polls in April — seven months before they are due — to be able to combat potential charges with a fresh electoral mandate. That would allow him to argue, as he did on Monday, that the allegations against him are the result of a plot by his political enemies to force him from office against voters' will. Polls show Netanyahu is likely to win despite the investigations, but a decision to indict him before the elections could shake up the campaign. For more, see below ⬇ Website Articles: https://www.i24news.tv/en Live: https://video.i24news.tv/page/live?cl... (Subscription) Replay: https://video.i24news.tv/page/5ab2981... (Subscription) Social Media Jeff: / jeffsmithi24 Mike: / mike_wagenheim Facebook: / i24newsen Twitter: / i24news_en Instagram: / i24news