JERUSALEM -- The criminal trial for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin March 17, court officials announced Tuesday.
The announcement means that Netanyahu will appear in the Jerusalem court as a defendant just two weeks after the March 2 election. He was indicted in November on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. He is accused of accepting lavish gifts from billionaire friends and offering regulatory favors to local media moguls in exchange for positive news coverage.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has denied any wrongdoing.
In a brief statement, the court said Netanyahu is expected to attend the initial hearing.
The March 2 election is Israel's third in less than a year. The previous elections ended in deadlock, with both Netanyahu's Likud Party and the rival Blue and White, led by former military chief Benny Gantz, unable to secure parliamentary majorities. Opinion polls have predicted a similar outcome in the third.
Gantz said it was a "sad" development that would prevent Netanyahu from focusing on his duties as prime minister.
"Netanyahu will be preoccupied with himself alone. He will not be in a position to look out for the interests of Israel's citizens," he said.
Netanyahu responded to Gantz's remarks by criticizing him without directly addressing the trial.
With the exception of the prime minister, Israeli law requires public officials to resign if charged with a crime. That means that if Netanyahu were forced to give up his position, he would go on trial as a private citizen. Netanyahu last month gave up an attempt to seek immunity from prosecution after concluding he did not have enough support in parliament.
Throughout the current campaign, Netanyahu has sought to paint himself as a global statesman uniquely qualified to lead the country through tumultuous times. He talks of Israel's emergence as a natural gas exporter, his strategy of confronting archenemy Iran and warming behind-the-scenes alliances with former Arab foes in the Persian Gulf.
He points to his friendship with President Donald Trump, saying that it gives Israel an opportunity to push its international agenda. Just three weeks ago, Netanyahu was welcomed at the White House for an event unveiling Trump's long-awaited Mideast plan. The plan was viewed by critics as favoring Israel over the Palestinians.
Netanyahu then went to Moscow, where he won the release of a young Israeli woman who had been jailed on minor drug charges. In recent days, he has turned inward, promising young Israelis that he will lower the high cost of living and assuring voters the country is prepared for the coronavirus scare.
Gantz, meanwhile, has focused his campaign almost entirely on Netanyahu's legal troubles and questioning his fitness to serve.
Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, said it is difficult to predict how the scheduling of the trial will affect the election.
Although the country has long known Netanyahu would go on trial, the setting of the date draws new attention to his legal troubles and makes it the central issue of the final stretch.
"The more the discussion is about Netanyahu as a defendant rather than Netanyahu as a statesman, obviously it does not work in Netanyahu's favor," he said.
The bigger effect of Tuesday's announcement could come after the election.
Under Israel's parliamentary system, the prime minister must form a majority coalition with smaller allied parties in order to rule. Opinion polls are once again predicting that both Gantz's Blue and White and Netanyahu's Likud will emerge as the largest parties, but still short of securing the necessary parliamentary majority with their partners.
Together, the two parties could control a majority of seats and form a unity government. Gantz has repeatedly said he is open to a power-sharing agreement with Likud, but not under Netanyahu's leadership when he is facing criminal charges. The odds of Gantz compromising are even lower now that the trial is imminent.
Other parties, and perhaps even members of Likud, may also be reluctant to line up behind a prime minister on trial.
A Section on 02/19/2020