Israel’s Netanyahu agrees to hold Likud party primaries

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a leadership vote within his Likud party, a spokesman confirmed on Monday.

The primaries will be held within six weeks, but not by the Dec. 11 deadline by which Israel’s parliament must dissolve itself, party spokesman Eli Hazan told dpa.

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Netanyahu agreed to the vote after Israel’s attorney general announced last week that he would be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, but still hopes to win.

The pressure on Netanyahu has been compounded by his failure to form a government after two inconclusive elections this year, leaving Israel in an ongoing state of political paralysis.

(dpa/NAN)