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Commentary: Why Netanyahu needs a landslide victory

The strategy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a possible indictment includes early elections and the appointment after of yes-men for the positions of IDF chief of staff and police commissioner.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a news conference, with his Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, announcing the appointment of the new Bank of Israel Governor, in Jerusalem October 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC155D556990
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At a rare meeting with journalists on Oct. 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked whether he would try to use his parliamentary immunity to protect himself if Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit indicts him early next year. Netanyahu claimed that he knew nothing about that, adding that the question is irrelevant because "I don’t believe I will be indicted."

People close to Netanyahu will swear that he is completely convinced that despite the investigations, the testimonies and the leaks, despite all the recordings and the (three) state witnesses, in the end, “There will be nothing because there is nothing.” Yet if that really is the situation, Netanyahu would not be getting closer to deciding to advance the election to March 2019.

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