JERUSALEM >> Israel’s attorney general announced his intentions today to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, imperiling Netanyahu’s political future just 40 days before he is to stand for re-election.

The decision by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was the culmination of a two-year investigation into Netanyahu’s dealings with wealthy businessmen, including a Hollywood movie producer, Israeli newspaper publishers and the head of the country’s largest telecommunications conglomerate.

Netanyahu, who is running for his fourth consecutive term as prime minister, is now entitled to a hearing to challenge the charges. If the case proceeds, he would be the first sitting prime minister to be indicted.

The attorney general accused Netanyahu, 69, of trading lucrative official favors for gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, including cigars, Champagne and jewelry, and for flattering news coverage whose value was incalculable.

The attorney general’s decision immediately prompted calls on the left for Netanyahu to resign.

Netanyahu insisted the prosecution was politically motivated, a scheme cooked up by his left-wing opponents and the media.

“I tell you, citizens of Israel, this whole tower of cards will collapse,” he said on national television Thursday night. “I intend to serve as your prime minister for many years. But it depends on you. Not on the commentators and TV studios and articles. It depends only on you.”

Netanyahu, who held office for three years in the late 1990s before reclaiming power a decade ago, was already facing a surprisingly stiff challenge from a popular former army chief heading into the April 9 election.

The charges stem from three separate cases. While all three involve trading official favors, only one case brought the most serious charge, bribery.

In that case, Netanyahu is accused of aiding the owner of Walla, a leading Israeli news website, in return for the site’s suppressing or softening coverage about the prime minister and his family and treating his opponents roughly.

In one example, Mandelblit said, Netanyahu demanded that Walla publish prominently, on election day in 2015, his now-notorious video warning to right-wing supporters that Arabs were heading to the polls “in droves” — an appeal for which the prime minister later apologized.

Mandelblit said that the evidence showed that Netanyahu had gone out of his way to aid the company’s principal owner, Shaul Elovitch, as “compensation” for the favorable coverage, and that this warranted the charge of bribery, along with charges of fraud and breach of trust.

In the second case, the prosecution said that Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, an expatriate Israeli, aided by Australian billionaire James Packer, sent gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, and that Netanyahu in return promoted legislation that could benefit Milchan, though it was blocked by the Finance Ministry.

In the third, Netanyahu was accused of discussing with the publisher of Yediot Ahronot, one of Israel’s biggest newspapers, the possibility of a deal for favorable coverage: He would press a competing newspaper, Israel Hayom, to curtail its free circulation, and in return Yediot Ahronot would treat Netanyahu more kindly. Israel Hayom is owned by Sheldon Adelson, the American billionaire casino owner who is a devoted supporter of Netanyahu’s.

The deal was never completed, investigators said.

In the second and third cases, Mandelblit said that Netanyahu should be charged with fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu remains highly esteemed by his supporters who, despite his flaws, consider him to be the only Israeli politician with the stature and experience to lead a lonely democracy in a hostile region and represent its interests skillfully on the world stage.

And he has worked hard to prepare his devoted right-wing followers for this moment, assailing the investigation as a “witch hunt” choreographed by the media in cahoots with his enemies on the left.

But as an indictment became increasingly certain, he grew more strident and divisive, alienating even some of the right-leaning voters whose support he needs to win another term.

That, in turn, has bolstered his leading opponent, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the former army chief of staff, and Gantz’s argument that Israel needs a clean, fresh start. “Thank you for the last 10 years,” Gantz has taken to saying, addressing Netanyahu. “We’ll take it from here.”

Mandelblit’s decision could also hamper Netanyahu even if he does win re-election, by narrowing his options in forming a new governing coalition, and perhaps even sinking his chances of leading it.

His conservative Likud party would almost certainly need to join forces with several smaller parties to achieve a majority of at least 61 votes in the 120-seat Parliament. His current right-wing and ultra-Orthodox coalition allies have so far pledged to stick with him, at least until formal charges are lodged, but polls show some of them may not be elected.

A poll by The Times of Israel news site published Thursday, before Mandelblit’s announcement, showed that a decision to seek Netanyahu’s indictment would sharply alter the contest, potentially giving Gantz’s party 44 seats in Parliament and Likud 25.

Netanyahu could also choose to step down as part of a plea agreement.

Normally under Israeli criminal procedure, Mandelblit’s announcement would be followed in short order by his turning over the evidence to defense lawyers — which if history is any guide would quickly lead to a deluge of leaks. But Netanyahu asked that Mandelblit wait until after the election to avoid just that. Mandelblit has not said what he will do.

The relationship between Netanyahu and Mandelblit, who used to be Netanyahu’s trusted Cabinet secretary, had raised questions about Mandelblit’s independence and his wherewithal to prosecute the prime minister.

As attorney general, Mandelblit has shown impartiality, challenging government policies he thought were anti-democratic or unconstitutional. In 2017, he announced his intention to bring fraud charges against Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, accusing her of misusing some $100,000 in public funds.

In the end, Mandelblit took a more cautious stance than did his colleagues. Summarizing at length the views of a broad team of prosecutors, he disclosed that others, including the state attorney, favored charging Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery in all three cases.

Now Netanyahu must try to mount a legal defense while battling for re-election. His lawyers estimate the legal bills could cost $2 million, which, a government watchdog ruled this week, Netanyahu will have to pay for himself.

He had asked for approval of donations of $500,000 apiece, and the option of $1 million more from two wealthy American associates — a cousin, Nathan Milikowsky, with whom Netanyahu has had business dealings, and Spencer M. Partrich, a Michigan-based developer.

The committee said it was inappropriate for wealthy individuals to fund legal expenses arising from a criminal investigation involving wealthy individuals. It ordered Netanyahu to return the gifts he had already received from Milikowsky and Partrich.

Milikowsky had given Netanyahu $300,000 to cover legal fees, and Partrich had given him cigars and two or three business suits.

“How much does a suit for a prime minister cost,” the committee asked in its ruling, “and why should he receive suits as a present instead of buying them himself?”

© 2019 The New York Times Company