RAMALLAH – A three-judge panel at Jerusalem's Magistrate's Court unanimously acquitted hawkish Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday of charges of fraud, breach of trust, thus paving the way for his return to the Foreign Ministry. Lieberman, the head of the rightist Yisrael Beiteinu party, was indicted in December 2012 for illegally using his clout as foreign minister to promote former ambassador to Latvia Ze'ev Ben Aryeh, allegedly as a reward for Ben Aryeh leaking to Lieberman details of a separate corruption investigation against him. The judges said in their decision that Lieberman should have informed the Foreign Ministry's appointments committee of his relationship with Ben Aryeh when Ben Aryeh was up for the appointment. However, “there was no proof of a sufficiently severe conflict of interests” to merit a conviction, they said. A guilty verdict with a sentence carrying moral turpitude and a jail term of more than three months would have forced Lieberman to leave politics for seven years. After the verdict was handed down, Lieberman thanked the court and expressed relief over the positive ending to his a years-long legal ordeal. “It's behind me now,” he said to reporters in the courthouse. “I want to thank my family and my friends who stood beside me… who believed in my innocence and lent me their support. I have no intention of dealing with this episode any more. I've put it behind me and I'm focusing on the challenges that await us. That's it.” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke to Lieberman after his acquittal and indicated that he would soon be re-installed as foreign minister, after a hiatus of nearly a year. “I congratulate you on your unanimous acquittal, and I'm glad that you're returning to the Israeli cabinet so that we can continue to work together for the benefit of the Israeli people,” Netanyahu told Lieberman, according to the Prime Minister's Office. Lieberman quit his position as foreign minister when he was formally charged, and was appointed Chairman of the powerful Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Netanyahu has been serving as interim foreign minister pending a decision in Lieberman's trial. Lieberman's coalition mates, Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Trade and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) congratulated Lieberman on his acquittal. Lieberman is the most prominent politician in the so-called “Russian” sector, of Israelis who immigrated from the former Soviet Union. His party, Yisrael Beiteinu, merged with Likud in the lead-up to the last elections. Opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich slammed the acquittal, calling on Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to appeal the verdict. “Public corruption does not fall far from the severity of criminal corruption and here we are talking about a corrupt person,” the Labor leader said. Zahava Gal-On, Knesset Member and chairwoman of the leftist Meretz party, said “We must respect the court's decision, while checking the conduct of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.” “In opposition to the state prosecutor and other senior lawyers, Weinstein preferred to file an indictment against Lieberman over something that was relatively marginal, while closing the severe corruption charges against him.” Lieberman attacked the Palestinian leadership several times, calling President Mahmoud Abbas a “peace refusenik.” Lieberman also made controversial statements saying that “anyone who thinks that in the center of the diplomatic, political, and social tsunami that is shaking the Arab world it is possible to get a magical solution of comprehensive peace with the Palestinians does not understand.” “I am saying clearly that it is impossible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians,” said Lieberman. “It is impossible to solve the conflict, it needs to be managed.”
