By Associated Press  – Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu might
be upbeat these days: The economy is growing, his opposition is weak
and the incoming Trump administration seems friendly, even to the
much-maligned Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Instead, the
long-serving leader is mired in a series of eye-popping corruption
investigations in a country that has already jailed a prime minister and
president.

Police have interrogated Netanyahu several times “under caution” over
questionable ties to top executives in media, international business
and Hollywood, whipping up a sense that he might actually be driven from
office. The latest scandal, involving secret negotiations with the
publisher of a critical newspaper, is proving especially embarrassing. The transcripts of Netanyahu’s taped negotiations with his supposed
arch-nemesis, media mogul Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper
group, have dominated the national agenda in recent weeks. Netanyahu
allegedly promised to promote legislation that would weaken Yediot’s
main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage.

It follows previous allegations that Netanyahu improperly accepted
lavish gifts from wealthy supporters – including Australian billionaire
James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan – and that his
personal attorney, who is also a cousin, represented a German firm
involved in a controversial $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel. These follow previous repeated claims that his wife Sara misused
state funds for personal use, compounding a public image of Israel’s
first family as detached hedonists corrupted by years in power.

Last week, police questioned the prime minister’s wife, Sara, as part of
the investigation. Her questioning by investigators from the National
Fraud Unit was said to involve details on gifts she had received,
including large quantities of pink champagne. She said the champagne was
a legitimate gift between friends, Channel 2 reported on Thursday.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, portraying the
accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile
media. Despite his impressive total of 11 years in office over two
periods, Netanyahu has found himself at frequent loggerheads with much
of the country’s establishment, including lately the security
leadership.

“In recent days, there is an unprecedented, orchestrated media
campaign to topple the Likud government that I lead. This propaganda
campaign is aimed at pressuring the attorney general and others in the
state prosecution to indict me,” he posted on Facebook.

Cabinet ministers must resign if indicted. But Israeli law is murkier
when it comes to prime ministers, and Netanyahu has given no indication
that he would step down in such a case.

The government of Netanyahu’s predecessor, Ehud Olmert, fell apart
before he was indicted and ultimately imprisoned on corruption charges.
Former President Moshe Katsav, who just completed a five-year sentence
for rape and other sex crimes, also was forced to step down before he
was indicted.

Regardless of whether Netanyahu’s actions prove criminal, opposition
leader Isaac Herzog said they posed a “serious breach of trust between
the government and its citizens.”

Most of the attention has focused on Netanyahu’s reported jockeying
with Mozes in 2014 over how to rein in Israel Hayom – a free daily
financed by Netanyahu’s billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson that largely
serves as Netanyahu’s mouthpiece and has damaged Yediot financially.

The payoff, allegedly, would be Yediot flipping its editorial line in
favor of Netanyahu. The talks ultimately led nowhere. This week,
Netanyahu confirmed for the first time that he called an early election
in 2015 to block legislation aimed at curtailing Israel Hayom’s
distribution by forcing it to charge a newsstand fee.

Netanyahu has since appointed himself communications minister, making
him responsible for media regulation, and ordered coalition partners
not to float any media-related bills without his approval.

The leaks have also raised questions about the journalistic integrity
of Yediot, which has gone into damage control mode even as some of its
own columnists have called on Mozes to step down. Mozes has been
questioned several times by police and hasn’t commented publicly.

It is not clear whether a crime was committed, and the other allegations may ultimately prove more serious.

The Netanyahus are said to have received more than $100,000 worth of
cigars and liquor from Milchan. Packer has reportedly lavished
Netanyahu’s college-aged son, Yair, with gifts that included extended
stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as
well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by
Packer’s former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

On Tuesday night, Yair was reportedly being questioned by police.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since
Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes
and Milchan reportedly asked Netanyahu to press the U.S. secretary of
state in a visa matter. Israel’s Interior Ministry would not comment on
Packer’s status, and a representative for Milchan did not respond to
requests for comment.

None of Netanyahu’s coalition partners have come out against him.
Cabinet Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, a close associate, said the Likud party
was strongly behind its leader and no one was even considering making a
run to replace him.

“It doesn’t seem to me, in a superficial observation, to be something corrupt or criminal,” he said.

But the saga has put a damper on Netanyahu’s joy over the arrival of
Donald Trump, after eight years of testy ties with President Barack
Obama. In a possible sign of trouble, Netanyahu last week suddenly
canceled a trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Aides say
there are no plans to attend Trump’s inauguration, despite reports that
he was invited.

Trump looks to be a far more comfortable fit for Netanyahu and his
nationalist coalition. He’s appointed a Jewish-American lawyer with
close ties to the settlement movement as his ambassador to Israel and
vowed to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – fulfilling a
longtime Israeli wish.

Appearing to take a page out of the Trump playbook, Netanyahu has
increasingly been attacking the press and taking to social media.

Opposition lawmaker Erel Margalit, who has been leading the calls to
investigate Netanyahu, said his conduct over time makes him unfit to
serve.

“Netanyahu is finished. It may take several more months but we need to start preparing for the next generation,” he said.