The decision to prosecute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only threatens his political future but also puts Israel in a difficult position.

Israel's Ministry of Justice on November 21 announced its decision to prosecute Prime Minister Netanyahu on three charges of accepting bribes, corruption and abuse of confidence. This is the first time an incumbent Israeli prime minister has been indicted for the above offenses, putting Netanyahu in a situation of unprecedented challenges.

Prior to announcing the prosecution decision, the Israeli Ministry of Justice looked into this possibility in February, putting Netanyahu's Prime Minister and Israeli politics at a serious standstill, when the country could not form a government. just after the last two elections.

The indictment hanging above Netanyahu makes Benny Gantz, the leader of the center-left Green and White party, unwilling to form a coalition government under a prime minister at risk of prosecution. Netanyahu, meanwhile, did not want to give up power, because if he established a government, he would be able to enjoy immunity from prosecution.

Political turmoil in Israel has intensified over the past year with the decision to prosecute Netanyahu, observers say.

Israel has practically no constitution. The main national governance principles are set out in the so-called "Basic Law", which refers to the possibility of the prime minister having to stand trial.

Under this law, even if the Ministry of Justice is prosecuted, Prime Minister Netanyahu has no obligation to resign and still be able to continue to take power, even if he has to go to trial. MPs can only vote to remove him after every Prime Minister's appeal fails, the process can take a lot of time, even for years.

Still, the Israeli prosecutor wants to bring the case to court to challenge Netanyahu's continued efforts to take power.

The provision regarding a prime minister to stand trial has never been interpreted by the Supreme Court so it is unprecedented, said Suzie Navot, a professor of constitutional law at Striks Law School near Tel Aviv. Comment. "Without being interpreted by the Supreme Court, this provision is completely meaningless," she noted.

For example, the Basic Law does not make a clear distinction between a prime minister committing a misdemeanor such as tax evasion or a serious crime such as accepting a bribe. It is the most serious of the charges against Netanyahu, with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

The Israeli Supreme Court in the 1990s ruled that a minister or deputy minister in the government must be fired immediately after being prosecuted. But ministers and deputy ministers are easily replaceable. If the prime minister resigns, the government will be delayed, prompting the court to reconsider its decision.

The previous ruling came from a petition of the quality government Movement of NGOs in Israel. The group argues that similar standards should apply to the prime minister. "A prosecuted prime minister is no longer suitable to serve the country and his continued incumbency is ridiculous," said Tomer Naor, the group's legal director.

But if the Israeli Supreme Court ruled like that, controversy would break out, observers assessed. Right-wing politicians are seeking to rein in the power of the Supreme Court, so the deposition of Netanyahu can be considered by many as overreacting.

Ayelet Shaked, a left-wing lawmaker, former Israeli justice minister, recently warned of the Supreme Court justices' involvement in the political process, calling it an action "no different from a coup d'etat".

According to Gad Barzilai, a law professor at Haifa University, he doesn't think the Supreme Court has the authority to force the prime minister to step down quickly.

Like other MPs, Prime Minister Netanyahu may ask parliament to grant immunity from prosecution, but it is unclear whether he has a viable option to ensure this right.

The prime minister's immunity may be granted by a parliamentary committee, but it must then be passed by the entire parliament. Typically, a legislator has 30 days to file a charge waiver from the time of prosecution.

But after two elections that failed to form a government and months of political paralysis in Israel, the parliament's immunity-granting committee is not working and is likely to continue to not work for many more months, until another election was held and a new government was formed.

As the political standoff persists, some "rebellious" members of Netanyahu's Likud conservative party may ask to hold a preliminary election to select a new leader.

In fact, just a few hours after the prosecution decision was announced, Gideon Sa'ar, the second senior member of the Likud party, announced that he would seek to overthrow Netanyahu with the argument that he could establish it. to be a government, something that Netanyahu cannot do even when the third election is held.

If Netanyahu, who denies the allegations, survives the vote as party leader, he can still run for the next term. If the primary election fails, he will no longer be a candidate representing the Likud party running for prime minister position.

Since neither Netanyahu nor his main rival, Benny Gantz, were able to form the government after the latest vote, Congress now has a mandate in three weeks to select a prime minister with multi-support. number of parliamentarians. If parliament fails, Israel will have to hold another election.

If Netanyahu wins, despite the allegations, President Reuven Rivlin will have to decide whether to assign him the task of establishing a new government.

Mordechai Kremnitzer, former head of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a senior expert at the Democratic Institute's non-partisan research center, said most of the people of Israel believed that a prime minister remained in office while being prosecuted. accused of corruption as "unacceptable combination".

"Everyone feels that something is wrong here," Kremnitzer said, adding that a prime minister cannot "come to court from 9am to 4pm and run the country from 4pm onwards."