JERUSALEM — Facing indictment for breach of trust and fraud, Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, resigned his post Friday afternoon amid mounting political pressure, upending the campaign landscape five weeks before national elections.
Mr. Lieberman, a powerful but polarizing figure, wrote on his Facebook page, “I know that I committed no crime,” but said he was stepping down so “I will be able to put an end to this matter swiftly and without delay and to clear my name completely.”
Mr. Lieberman, who is also a member of Parliament, indicated that he still hoped to compete in the Jan. 22 balloting, suggesting a possible plea bargain. The expected indictment, which prosecutors announced on Thursday, concerns a relatively minor offense compared with a broader case of money laundering and fraud that was dropped after an investigation stretching for more than 12 years.
“I believe that the citizens of the State of Israel are entitled to go to the polling stations after this matter has already been resolved,” Mr. Lieberman’s statement said. If a legal ruling could be made before the elections, “I might continue to serve the State of Israel and the citizens of Israel as part of a strong and united leadership that will cope with the security, political and economic challenges facing the State of Israel.”
Mr. Lieberman, 54, leads the secular, ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, which joined forces in October with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. A populist immigrant from the former Soviet Union, he was widely considered as a potential successor to Mr. Netanyahu as leader of Israel’s right wing, though his hard line on the Palestinian question, among other issues, alienated many Western allies.
After the charges were announced, Mr. Lieberman told supporters that he had been hounded by corruption accusations since July 1996, when he served as a top aide to Mr. Netanyahu during his first term as prime minister. “Since then till today, not a day has passed without me being referred to as ‘a suspect,’ ‘being under investigation,’ ‘being an intelligence target,’ ” Mr. Lieberman said. “This has been one long and rolling case, receiving a different title every now and then.”
The conduct for which Mr. Lieberman will face indictment stems from an investigation into other allegations. He is accused of promoting Israel’s former ambassador to Belarus for another post after the ambassador gave him confidential information regarding an Israeli police investigation into Mr. Lieberman’s activities.
But Mr. Lieberman will not face charges on the underlying, more serious case, in which he was suspected of receiving millions of dollars from international tycoons with business interests in Israel through companies formally led by family members or associates.
Israel’s attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, said Thursday in a report announcing his decision that he could not adequately prove a link between Mr. Lieberman and the money, though he said, “The suspicions against Lieberman’s series of intricate and intertwined, underhanded actions cannot be ruled out.”
Born in Moldova, Mr. Lieberman enjoys wide support among Israel’s one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union. He lives in a West Bank settlement considered illegal under international law, and he is perhaps the government’s harshest critic of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, having called for his ouster and denounced as “diplomatic terrorism” his recent bid for upgraded Palestinian status at the United Nations.
Polls have consistently shown that Mr. Lieberman’s joint ticket with Mr. Netanyahu, known here as Likud Beiteinu, is expected to receive up to 40 of the 120 seats in Israel’s next Parliament, by far the largest bloc. The merger was seen as crowning him a top contender to eventually follow Mr. Netanyahu as prime minister.
Opposition leaders, who on Thursday had called for Mr. Lieberman’s resignation, were swift to embrace it on Friday, but not without adding jabs.
Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the left-wing Meretz party, said Mr. Lieberman had “spared himself ignobility and disgrace” by stepping down, according to the Web site of Channel 2 News. Shelly Yacimovich, chairwoman of the Labor Party, said he had “severely undermined the rule of law and damaged the public’s faith in its elected officials and democracy.”
Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister who now heads the new Hatnua Party, issued a more moderate statement, saying: “Avigdor Lieberman performed the right and necessary action. We hope he will receive a swift legal proceeding.”
Mr. Netanyahu had no immediate comment on Mr. Lieberman’s resignation Friday, but on Thursday had offered only support. “I believe in Israel’s legal system and respect it,” the prime minister said in a statement. “The right that it grants any Israeli citizen to defend himself also extends to Minister Lieberman, and I hope for him that he’ll be able to prove that he’s also innocent regarding the only case that remains.”
Under Israeli law, when a cabinet minister resigns, the prime minister becomes “custodian” of his portfolio, and Mr. Netanyahu is expected to handle foreign affairs himself at least until after the elections.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: December 14, 2012
An earlier version of this article misstated the timing of the forming of a coalition between Yisrael Beiteinu and Likud. It took place in October, not last month.
Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli Foreign Minister, Resigns
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