Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to call for early elections in the midst of legal troubles, pending controversial legislation and feuding among his top ministers—all of which could determine whether his solid relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump will continue.
“Netanyahu already decided in March to have early elections,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett told Army Radio in Israel. “If the prime minister wanted to solve the issue of the draft law, he would convene everyone until the issue was resolved, but it hasn’t happened.”
Amid possible corruption charges, Maariv reported in February that a Netanyahu aide may have offered a judge the position of attorney general were she to halt investigations into the prime minister’s wife’s household spending. Law enforcement confirmed the exchange.
But Sara Netanyahu, however, was indicted in June for allegedly ordering approximately $100,000 in meals at the state’s expense without authorization. For example, prosecutors accuse her of spending more than $6,500 worth of meals to the prime minister’s residence.
Israeli law stipulates if there is no cook in the residence, the family may order outside food. Prosecutors charged that Netanyahu’s family had a chef in the house and yet still ordered food on the taxpayer’s dime.
Nonetheless, polls show that another Netanyahu election that would cement his place in history as Israel’s longest-serving top leader.
