Many in the political system reacted to the revelation by “Maariv” on Tuesday about the recent silent meetings, according to the sources familiar with them, between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s associates and members of the political system and the legal system who oppose the legal reform – regarding a plea deal in his trial, while trying to find an adequate solution to the crisis that is tearing apart Israeli society .
It should be noted that the Prime Minister denies the contacts from any source, and his entourage said that “the chatter about a plea deal is false political spin. The issue is not on the agenda at all. Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasizes again – there will be no plea deal.” Despite the denials, other sources also testify that this informal conversation is going on behind the scenes.
Let’s recall that what was discussed in the talks is the outline for the plea settlement proposed a year ago by the former President of the Supreme Court, Professor Aharon Barak. According to the outline, Netanyahu will commit to leaving political life after a period that will be agreed upon in advance. In the current situation, this is the end of the full term of the current government, in about four years. In addition, according to an idea that came up then and has returned now, Netanyahu will admit to the training violation clause and the settlement will be without disgrace. As you may recall, the last clause at the time prevented progress since former legal advisor Avichai Mandelblit opposed the plea deal without prejudice – while Netanyahu’s representatives insisted only on a settlement without prejudice.
Even today, senior officials in the political system with whom we spoke about the contacts express pessimism regarding the possibility of a plea deal. The senior politicians, in the present and in the past, are unanimous regarding the slim possibility that the parties will reach an agreement regarding the defamation clause. “A plea deal or amnesty can be an excellent solution to end the terrible crisis surrounding the legal revolution,” a former political official told Maariv. “However, there is no possibility for this excellent idea. Netanyahu will never agree to any settlement that includes scandal.
“First of all, the scandal will oblige him to retire from political life immediately upon signing the settlement, and not in a few years. And the very fact that a scandal will be imposed on him is unacceptable to him. On the other hand, there is no chance of the prosecutor’s office agreeing to any settlement that does not include scandal, so there is nothing between the parties that resembles a point the meeting”.
The leaders of the camp opposed to the Levin reform agree with the words of the former official and gave similar responses. Another senior political official stated that “a plea deal that will be approved by the court will receive its backing, the big question is about the feasibility of the settlement.”