Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein today notified the High Court of Justice that he will decide whether to indict Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman within a month, before the Knesset elections on January 22, 2013. He made the statement in response to a petition against him by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which demanded a decision on the file before the elections.
The State Prosecutor's Office said in response to the petition that a decision on the Liberman file would be made in the normal way, and that the process would not be stopped because of the elections campaign.
Weinstein added that the reason for the additional delay in the file was due to "the additional reviews needed to formulate the final and rational/logical/intelligent decision about an indictment in the case." He said that this review was now underway.
The statement means that if Weinstein decides to indict Liberman, similar to his decision 18 months ago to indict Liberman subject to a hearing, Liberman will have to resign as foreign minister. If he refuses to resign, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to fire him.
In addition, Liberman will be allowed to serve in a cabinet post after the elections, until after his trial. He can, however, run for the Knesset on the Likud Beitenu ticket and serve as an MK in the 19th Knesset.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 8, 2012
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