Netanyahu says he will avoid corruption charges

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has predicted that police will not succeed in charging him as a result of a corruption probe.

Fraud squad detectives questioned Netanyahu at his Jerusalem residence on Friday for the seventh time in the nearly year-long investigation into two claims of improper conduct, including one that he received illegal gifts.

At a rally near Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the prime minister implied police would recommend he be indicted but that there would be no follow-up.

"There will be recommendations from the police to charge me, and then what?" Netanyahu, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, told a crowd of supporters from his Likud party.

Israelis taking part in a protest against corruption in Tel Aviv on December 2. /Reuters Photo

In one investigation, the prime minister is suspected of illegally receiving gifts from wealthy personalities including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

In a second case, Netanyahu allegedly sought a secret pact for favorable coverage with the publisher of the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper. The purported scheme, not believed to have been finalized, would have seen him receive favorable coverage in return for helping curb Yediot's competitor, the pro-Netanyahu freesheet Israel Hayom.

The prime minister says he is the target of a smear campaign by political opponents.

Thousands of Israelis have protested in recent weeks to demand legal action against "corrupt" people in the government and their resignation.

Source(s): AFP