ISRAELI police investigators are recommending that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted for fraud and breach of trust in a scandal relating to the appointment of an attorney general earlier this year. The future of the Israeli government is threatened.
The leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Mr Shimon Peres, last night called on Mr Netanyahu to voluntarily suspend himself from the prime ministership, but a spokesman for Mr Netanyahu indicated he was not about to do so, and stressed that it was for the state prosecution authorities, not the police, to decide whether or not to press charges in the case.
The attorney general affair has already become a political nightmare for Mr Netanyahu, overshadowing even the crisis in peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Several government ministers are on record as having said that, if even a small portion of the allegations in the case prove true, the government has no right to continue in office.
On Tuesday evening, a special police investigation team finished a three month inquiry into the affair, complete with recommendations as to who should be indicted and for what alleged offences.
Initial reports were that the police were calling for three people to be indicted: Justice Minister Tsahi Hanegbi, ultra Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, and the director general of the Prime Minister's Office Avigdor Lieberman.
But last night Israel television reported that the police were recommending charging Mr Netanyahu as Well, and the report was later confirmed by the Israeli minister of police, Mr Avigdor Kahalani.
The affair revolves around the appointment of a Jerusalem criminal lawyer, Mr Ronnie Bar On, as attorney general in January. He resigned within two days amid an outcry from the legal establishment over his perceived inappropriateness for so prestigious a position.
But later that month, Israel television unveiled allegations that Mr Bar On had been appointed as the result of a sordid backroom deal, under which he was to arrange a plea bargain for Mr Deri, whose Shas party is a crucial component in Mr Netanyahu's governing coalition, and who is in the midst of a complex corruption trial.
It was Mr Netanyahu who sanctioned the police investigation, describing the allegations at the time as "complete nonsense".
Mr Netanyahu's spokesman last night accused the police of deliberately leaking details of the case in an effort to force the hand of the state attorney and the new attorney general, the two officials who will ultimately have to decide whether to press charges.
The State Attorney, Ms Edna Arbel, has said she hopes to finalise a decision ahead of the Pass over festival, which begins next Monday.