Netanyahu formally indicted on corruption charges
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now been formally indicted on corruption charges after withdrawing his bid for parliamentary immunity.
He said in a statement that immunity proceedings would have been a, quote, "circus."
The case now moves toward trial, a process which could take months or years.
Netanyahu is accused of wrongfully accepting $264,000 worth of gifts from tycoons and of dispensing favors in alleged bids for improved coverage by Israel's biggest selling newspaper.
Netanyahu denies all wrongdoing.
The right-winger, who faces a national election in March, is now in Washington for meetings with President Trump, ahead of the release of Trump's long-delayed Israel-Palestinian peace plan - which the Palestinians have already rejected.
