Netanyahu's Long Goodbye

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Most Israelis want the end of him. Virtually all Palestinians, peace advocates, and human rights champions want him held accountable for horrific human rights abuses.

Charges he faces for fraud, bribery and breach of the public trust pale in comparison to his high crimes of war, against humanity, and economic terrorism against millions of Palestinians he disdains.

His day in court awaits on civil charges. No punishment is severe enough for high crimes too egregious to ignore — nothing enough to make up for horrific harm inflicted on defenseless Palestinians and countless others at home and abroad on his watch.

On Monday, Israeli media reported that charges against him went to the Knesset. It designates the Jerusalem District Court as his trial venue — 333 witnesses listed that state prosecutors may call as witnesses during proceedings.

He has 30 days to seek parliamentary immunity, January 1 the deadline. With political deadlock after two elections, a third one looms next year.

Given a state of near political paralysis, passing immunity legislation to save him is highly unlikely, his day in the dock coming when all the delaying tactics he can manipulate expire.

On November 21, attorney general Mandelblit released charges against him. It'll likely be months before trial proceedings begin.

By letter to Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein, Mandelbit said "he believes that the original indictment he put before him complies with the provisions of the Knesset Immunity Law, even thought he did not include the list of prosecution witnesses and the district court to which he intends to file the indictment."

Updated information included what was missing. Though Netanyahu lacks majority Knesset control to save him from trial, it won't likely begin before a new coalition government is formed in the new year.

In the interim, he remains prime minister, able to continue his reign of terror on regional peace, the rule of law, and against governance the way it's supposed to be — never in Israeli history, worst of all during his tenure.

On Monday, he said he and Trump discussed (illegally) annexing the Jordan Valley — about 30% of the West Bank, home to around 70,000 Palestinians and 11,000 settlers residing illegally on their stolen land.

According to B'Tselem, "Israel  exploits almost all of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea for its own needs and bars Palestinians from entering or using about 85% of the area," their historic land for centuries.

Palestinian construction and other development are banned in the Jordan Valley, its residents denied water, power, and other public services, a tactic to force them out.

Displacing and dispossessing them is longstanding Israeli policy, incrementally annexing the territory by ethnically cleansing its Palestinian inhabitants, a flagrant Fourth Geneva breach, how Israel operates throughout Occupied Palestine.

Netanyahu falsely called annexation of the Jordan Valley important for "Israel's security" — a bald-faced Big Lie to unjustifiably justify grand theft of Palestinian land.

He and Trump discussed Iran, he added, plotting more hostile actions against the country, DJT agreeable to greater toughness besides economic terrorism and days of rioting, vandalism and chaos orchestrated by the CIA last month.

Last summer, Netanyahu vowed to annex the Jordan Valley if reelected.  It's one of countless reasons to prosecute, convict, sentence, lock him up, and eliminate a regional menace.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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