"According to the
legal opinion submitted to me, I do not have to resign, but in the end I
will make a decision after consulting with my attorneys," Avigdor
Lieberman said Thursday, just hours after Attorney General Yehuda
Weinstein announced his decision to close the main corruption cause
against the foreign minister but indict him for breach of public trust
and fraud in a 2008 cause involving obstruction of justice by former
Israeli ambassador to Belarus Ze’ev Ben-Aryeh.
Speaking at an event of young Yisrael Beitenu members in Tel
Aviv, Lieberman called on the state to lift his parliamentary immunity
at once so he could be put on trial "as soon as possible."
"We are in the middle of an election campaign, and I think (the indictment) hurts the voting public. Last elections we (Yisrael Beitenu) ran alone and got 400,000 votes. We are 40 days before the elections. We must win these elections in a more convincing manner. Therefore, my decision (on whether to resign) will be reached after I receive the (legal) opinion of my attorneys and after (considering its effects) on the voting public."
