JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest in Israel after police recommended corruption charges against embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (all times local):

Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer, Amit Hadad, says police recommendations of corruption charges against the prime minister are based on "false" statements. The recommendations marked a dramatic ending to a more than yearlong investigation into allegations that Netanyahu accepted gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer, and suspicions that he offered to give preferential treatment to a newspaper publisher in exchange for favorable coverage. Nothing has made me deviate, or will make me deviate, from this sacred mission.”

The process has a ways to go, but the ultimate decision of whether or not to charge Netanyahu lies with Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit. Netanyahu responded to the reports in a live address Tuesday afternoon, saying he will continue to lead Israel and that the recommendations against him will “end with nothing.”

The nation’s prime minister since 2009, he could face indictment after a monthslong investigation into two separate allegations of corruption. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, a bitter rival of Netanyahu, called on him to suspend himself and for the coalition to appoint a replacement on Wednesday morning. Netanyahu has long denied the allegations, and a prime minister facing such police recommendations – or who has been formally charged with offences – is not obliged to resign.
Israeli police recommend indicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with charges of corruption and bribery. Netanyahu calls the accusations "baseless".