The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has formally submitted his resignation to the three ministerial portfolios he has occupied so far in the face of pressures in this regard because he has been charged with corruption.
Netanyahu, in addition to being prime minister, was also in charge of the Social Affairs and Diaspora portfolios, and is also acting Minister of Agriculture. Until last Sunday, he was also Minister of Health, but the appointment of a new owner was approved. A few weeks ago I had already advanced that I would resign from these positions, something that formalized late this Wednesday.
Since Netanyahu has started a trip to Greece on Thursday and will not return until Sunday, the appointment of the new ministers is not expected until that date, according to the newspaper ‘Jerusalem Post’.
In any case, the resignations will only be effective 48 hours after its formulation at 23.45 on Wednesday and, given that the 25 hours of the ‘Shabbat’ do not count, Netanyahu will remain technically minister until Sunday, the newspaper said.
Last November, Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, charged Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and abuse of trust in three cases of corruption in which he is implicated. The prime minister has denied these charges and on Wednesday he asked Parliament to grant him immunity, which would postpone the eventual conclusion of a trial against him.
The Quality Government Movement had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to request that he resign the rest of the positions he occupies and to demand that the court order Netanyahu to resign as prime minister and appoint a temporary substitute. Thus, the president notified last December 12 to the Supreme that he would leave the wallets he occupied on January 1.
