Resignation of Israeli foreign minister takes effect

JERUSALEM – The resignation of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman went into effect on Tuesday, five days after he was charged with fraud and breach of trust just weeks ahead of a general election.

Lieberman’s resignation took effect at 10h00, with his duties now transferred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also holds three other portfolios: economic strategy, pensioner affairs and health.Lieberman announced his resignation on Friday, a day after Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein decided to formally charge him with fraud and breach of trust.He has pledged to clear his name, but retains his seat in parliament and will still stand in snap elections on January 22.The minister’s departure automatically triggers the resignation of his deputy, Danny Ayalon, but Netanyahu has expressed a wish for him to be reinstated and serve until after the election, the foreign ministry said.Such a move must be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, which will meet in special session later this week to vote on the issue, Netanyahu’s bureau said.Lieberman, who leads the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party which is running on a joint electoral slate with Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud, is now likely to seek a quick plea bargain that return him to the cabinet within a few months, commentators said.But his main concern is to avoid a conviction including both a finding of ‘moral turpitude’ and a prison sentence, which would bar him from serving as a minister for seven years.If he is convicted before January 22 of a crime of bearing moral turpitude but without a prison sentence, he would have to resign from the Knesset but could come back and run in the elections.- Nampa-AFP