In an interview with Mishpacha Magazine, parts of which were aired by Channel 12 late Tuesday night, Mandelblit seemed to imply that if the prime minister does not officially sign away his involvement in law enforcement appointments and legislation directly impacting his potential criminal status, then the attorney-general would go to the High Court of Justice. The court would likely force Netanyahu to face the concrete threat of being forced to resign.
What has changed?
Until now, Mandelblit, the same attorney-general who indicted Netanyahu, has been in some ways his chief enabler to stay in power.He was the one who told the High Court of Justice unequivocally that an indictment did not require the prime minister to resign.
Mandelblit in recent weeks has at least three times publicly said that Netanyahu could stay in power even once his three-times-a-week trial starts in January.
For Netanyahu critics hoping to get rid of the prime minister upon indictment or the start of the trial, the attorney-general has been flattening their enthusiasm.
It is quite possible a more progressive attorney-general would have said something different to the High Court, which might have led to a red card from the justices instead of the green light they gave him to form the current government.
But there has been a shift.
Mandelblit was not ready to brandish the threat of forcing Netanyahu out for “incompetence” despite months of personal attacks on him and the state prosecution.However, what has changed is the dragging out of a deal where Netanyahu finally officially signs away his involvement in law enforcement appointments and legislation directly impacting his potential criminal status.
During the May High Court hearings, a key component of Mandelblit telling the court to green light Netanyahu was his and the prime minister’s lawyers’ assurances that Netanyahu would sign on a commitment not to interfere with exactly these issues.
But as soon as Mandelblit sent Netanyahu a commitment to sign on months ago, the prime minister disputed Mandelblit’s authority to interfere. Netanyahu said that as prime minister a critical aspect of his powers is such appointments and legislation.
There have been reports for the last few weeks that Netanyahu had finally agreed to a slightly watered-down conflict of interest commitment, but one that would still at least protect law enforcement appointments.
But even those reports have seemed to evaporate during the latest coronavirus lockdown.
With only three months to the trial’s beginning, Mandelblit has decided that he will need to pull out the stops to pressure Netanyahu into signing the commitment.
The message is now clear from the attorney-general: Netanyahu has maybe weeks, at most a month or two, to sign on voluntarily. Otherwise, Mandelblit will go to the High Court to get an order to force him to do so – or to leave office.