A-G creates team to discuss questions arising from Netanyahu's indictment
Among the members of the team are Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan.
By MAARIV ONLINEATTORNEY-GENERAL Avichai Mandelblit faces a decision that not only will determine his career, but also the trajectory of the state.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Three days have passed since Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit published the charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Now the constitutional questions arise following this historic step.Among the issues under discussion are: whether a prime minister facing an indictment should resign, or act in accordance with the letter of the Basic Law, which says that he should resign only after being convicted. Another question is whether President Reuven Rivlin can grant Netanyahu the mandate to form a government once the indictment has been filed.On the weekend, members of the political system already turned to Mandelblit, demanding that Netanyahu resign from his four ministerial positions: Welfare, Health, Agriculture and the Diaspora.According to a report on Army Radio on Sunday, the attorney-general has set up a legal team to discuss these constitutional questions in the hopes of reaching conclusions by the weekend.The report specifies that the legal team will include Mandelblit himself, State Attorney Shai Nitzan, Vice President for Constitutional Affairs Adv. Raz Nazri, and Deputy Attorney-General Dina Zilber. Head of the petitions to the High Court, Attorney Anar Helman, will probably join the team on the assumption that any decision that is not made in the group will eventually come up for a hearing in the High Court.Meanwhile, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel became the first to file a petition to the High Court of Justice to force Netanyahu to resign.
