A new page in Israeli history opens Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the first sitting premier to face criminal charges, accused of a string of corruption allegations he denies.
After more than 500 days of electoral deadlock in which he fought for his political survival Netanyahu is to take his seat in the Jerusalem District Court for a new battle - to stay out of prison and avoid a stain on his legacy.
The 70-year-old is used to setting precedents: he is the first Israeli prime minister born after the foundation of the state in 1948 and the longest-serving in its history.
But the impending trial is a deeply-unwanted first.
He will appear in court Sunday at the start of a corruption trial that is likely to take months or even years.
Here is a look at the accusations against the veteran premier, who denies all charges:
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in January indicted Mr Netanyahu for fraud and breach of trust in what are known as cases 1000 and 2000 and for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in case 4000.
Case 1000 involves allegations Mr Netanyahu and his family received gifts including luxury cigars, champagne and jewellery from wealthy individuals, estimated to be worth more than 700,000 shekels ($200,000, 185,000 euros), in exchange for financial or personal favours.
According to police, Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan was responsible for some 478,000 shekels-worth of gifts, while the remainder came from Australian billionaire James Packer.
Mr Netanyahu is suspected in return to have sought to help Milchan receive tax benefits that some reports said could have been worth millions of dollars and assisted him with obtaining a US visa.
Mr Netanyahu argues there is no problem with receiving gifts from friends and denies having acted inappropriately in exchange.
A second investigation, known as Case 2000, concerns allegations Netanyahu sought a deal with the owner of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper that would have seen it give him more favourable coverage.
In exchange, Mr Netanyahu allegedly raised the possibility of pushing for legislation to limit the circulation of Israel Hayom, a free newspaper that is the main rival to Yediot.
Police based their investigation on recordings of meetings between Mr Netanyahu and Yediot's publisher Arnon Moses.
Ari Harow, a former Netanyahu chief of staff, agreed to testify in exchange for leniency.
Mr Netanyahu says he acted against the legislation concerning Israel Hayom.
The third investigation, known as Case 4000, is considered the most serious and also relates to alleged attempts to seek positive media coverage through favours.
Mr Netanyahu is alleged to have negotiated with Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecommunications giant Bezeq, to get positive coverage on his Walla! news site in exchange for policies benefiting Bezeq.
Shlomo Filber, a Netanyahu ally for more than 20 years and a former communications ministry director general, has become a state witness.
He is accused of mediating between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Elovitch and promoting regulatory changes worth millions of dollars to Bezeq.
Mr Netanyahu dismisses the allegations, saying he received nothing from Mr Elovitch and that Walla's coverage of him has been negative.
He says experts were in support of arrangements for Bezeq.
Mr Mandelblit described a long list of Walla coverage decisions allegedly taken on behalf of Mr Netanyahu.
They included downplaying stories Mr Netanyahu viewed as harmful to him or his family and publishing negative coverage of opponents.
In one case, Mr Netanyahu allegedly pushed for a story about the wife of a political rival having worked in a non-kosher restaurant.
Another allegedly saw the Netanyahus order the publication of a story about his wife Sara attending a Mariah Carey concert and her meeting with the singer.
In alleged communications regarding such coverage, Mr Netanyahu was referred to as "the big one".
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Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
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Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Company Fact Box
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Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
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Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
