Israel’s prosecutor holds graft hearing for foreign minister

Israel’s attorney general was on Tuesday presiding over a hearing to decide whether to indict Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on charges of fraud, breach of trust and money laundering. Lieberman’s four-strong legal team began presenting their arguments at midday (1000 GMT) to State Prosecutor Moshe Lador and other top prosecutors in a bid to convince Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein not to indict their client, judicial sources said. “Lieberman’s lawyers began presenting their client’s response to allegations against him at midday,” a justice ministry spokeswoman told AFP. “The hearing is taking place at the justice ministry and may possibly continue on Wednesday,” she said. The hearing was to end by 3:00 pm but the ministry said it was not planning to put out a statement, with Weinstein only expected to make a decision in the coming months, media news reports said. Lieberman, who denies wrongdoing, is on an overseas trip and was required to attend the hearing headed by Weinstein that could last two days. The attorney-general could take several more months before deciding whether to put the minister on trial. If Lieberman is charged, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be required to dismiss him from his government. Although this would not force Yisrael Beiteinu out of the coalition, political analysts have speculated that Netanyahu might take advantage of the situation and seek a snap election, hoping to bolster his party’s standing at the expense of Lieberman ? his main rival on the political right. Lieberman has a strong following at home and his party is the third largest force in parliament. He has questioned the loyalties of Israel’s 1.5 million Arab citizens, drawing accusations of racism but also a large electoral following beyond his Russian-speaking base. He has proposed population swaps where Arab citizens of Israel would fall under Palestinian rule in exchange for Jewish settlements in the West Bank becoming part of Israel. In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 he said the now-dormant Israel-Palestinian peace process had no chance of success and Israel should pursue long-term interim peace deals. Sidelined But Lieberman is often sidelined in statecraft, with his uncompromising support of Jewish settlement building and opposition to a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians regularly putting him at odds with Israel’s Western allies. The Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported on Tuesday that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were unwilling to meet Lieberman during a forthcoming visit to the United States because of his views but Lieberman’s office has said that his schedule has still to be finalized. U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations collapsed in 2010 after Netanyahu refused to renew a freeze on West Bank settlements taking up land the Palestinians want for a state. Jordan is hosting exploratory talks to try to restart those negotiations. While Netanyahu has pledged to continue trying to secure an accord for Palestinian independence, Lieberman ? himself a West Bank settler ? has written off the talks as pointless. Netanyahu has publicly supported Lieberman, saying in a statement he hoped the foreign minister would “prove his innocence” and “continue to make his public contribution”. Prosecutors say Lieberman and confidants are suspected of trying to cover up dealings “through methodical and protracted actions defrauding the public and national institutions”. It further accused him of trying to promote Israel’s ambassador to Belarus after the envoy leaked him privileged information about a police investigation against him dating back to the 1990s.