The announcement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges marks a dramatic moment in Israeli politics and is a major blow to Netanyahu as he seeks a fifth term in office. However, Netanyahu should stop trying to reach this latest finish line. He should resign now. Netanyahu is alleged to have accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favors to try to get more positive press coverage. As such, he is facing three separate corruption investigations, pending a hearing. Netanyahu is entitled to the hearing on the impending indictment before charges are formally laid, but that is not expected to take place until long after the election on April 9. That puts his coalition partners in a bind. They must now decide whether to support a leader who is likely to be indicted or withdraw support and risk angering their right-wing voter base. Before the election was called, opposition parties had called on coalition leaders to withdraw support for Netanyahu if he was charged. Crucially, Netanyahu cannot serve as prime minister without the support of his coalition partners. The other dilemma is that under Israeli law, Netanyahu is not required to step down if he is indicted. He is only required to step down if he is convicted and that conviction is upheld through the appeals process, which could take years. Many are questioning the prime minister's ability to handle affairs of state if he's simultaneously defending himself in court. He should be reminded of his remark a decade ago, referring to ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert, that "a prime minister drowning up to his neck in investigations" cannot be expected to make decisions without putting his personal benefit above that of the country. Whether or not Netanyahu resigns before the election, his coalition looks to be in a perilous predicament. A recent poll found that Israelis may turn to the new Blue and White coalition in increasing numbers: 44 seats to Likud's 25. This would put the former easily in a position to form a new governing coalition. This doesn't mean Netanyahu should resign only because he might lose in the elections, or because of the upcoming indictment, or that he might be found guilty. Another very good reason for his departure is his absenteeism when it comes to the Palestinian problem. What has he done to solve it? Absolutely nothing. He has been willfully refusing to abide by international law, UN resolutions and global consensus, turning such international norms into a mockery. He has been committed to enhancing the extremist Jewish settler population at the expense of the indigenous Palestinians rather than to abide by the basic requirements for peace and justice. And he has assaulted human rights by taking human lives, by launching multiple, horrific wars that have killed and maimed thousands of Palestinian children, women and men. He has worked to impose "Greater Israel" on all of historic Palestine by annexing all of Jerusalem, expanding illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, erasing the history, narrative and physical presence of the Palestinian people, and destroying the territorial and demographic contiguity of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. And he has destroyed the very foundations of the two-state solution and any hope for a settlement. Some two-thirds of Israelis believe that Netanyahu should resign. They want him out because he will be indicted for corruption. The Palestinians want him to quit because he has done nothing for them. In both cases, the two peoples say it is time for Netanyahu to call it a day. Netanyahu could surpass David Ben-Gurion as his country's longest serving leader, but if he wants to go into the Guinness Book of World Records, that's not a good enough reason to remain. As far as many Israelis and all Palestinians are concerned, Netanyahu's reign has gone on long enough.
