Likud MK Claims Mandelblit Agreed to Plea Deal in Netanyahu Corruption Case

Likud Member of Knesset Moshe Saada revealed in a radio interview on Tuesday that a plea deal was nearly reached in former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption cases about five years ago. Saada stated on Kol Barama radio that then-Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had already agreed to sign the deal. Mandelblit reportedly wanted to finalize the agreement to prevent systemic failures from being exposed. Netanyahu was close to accepting the deal, but his lawyers warned him that the bribery charge carried an average prison sentence of six to seven years. Ultimately, the prosecution halted the deal at the last moment, preventing its completion. Saada's comments came amid recent judicial recommendations to drop the bribery charge in Case 4000 against Netanyahu.