All doubts are now settled. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not only seek immunity from prosecution, he has made the decision to place the question of immunity at the center of his election campaign.
Everyone is crooked, Netanyahu will tell the voters and ask why he alone is being signaled out?
Netanyahu prefers to see voters concentrate on his "unfair" legal woes and not on the failings of his outgoing right-wing, religious government and the increasingly racist one he must form the next time if he is to survive politically.
Immunity is not a basic right – and even more so if the alleged crimes were not committed in the line of duty. Gifts worth hundreds of thousands of worth of gifts are not part of any job.
Still, Netanyahu - like all other members of Knesset - has the right to request a committee of lawmakers grant him what he is entitled to by law.
But public perception and moral values cannot be easily reconciled with the prime minister's request – in that respect, Netanyahu's request is a disgrace.
Since the Immunity Law was passed in 2005, just two members of Knesset have exercised this right: MK Said Nafa, a member of the Balad Party who was convicted of contact with an enemy agent and had his request denied, and just recently, former welfare minister Haim Katz, whose request for immunity is still pending.
Netanyahu now makes three.
The prime minister is picking a fight – he needs one for his campaign to be effective.
He would like the campaign to be about him alone, about whether voters are for him or against him. This is the arena he can control and where he believes his strength lies.
According to the evidence already made public in the cases against Netanyahu, his actions, though undoubtedly corrupt, may not be criminal.
Worst still, there have been questions regarding the behavior of investigators as they built the three cases against the prime minister. These questions include targeted leaks from interrogations, excess pressure on witnesses and even the overlooking of allegations of sexual misconduct by one of the police investigators involved in the early stages of the inquiry.
The immunity request will certainly delay criminal proceedings, and without a functioning Knesset, there can be no deliberation of the prime minister's request.
A new government will not be sworn in for many months and Netanyahu is taking a gamble that this third round of elections in less than 12 months will produce better results than the first two in April and September of last year, after which had failed to form a coalition.
As far as he is concerned, a fourth and fifth round of elections are an option as his personal interests must come before those of the country.
In the recent Likud primary race, more than 25% of the party voters thought the interest of the country should come first and chose a new leader. Some on the right think it is time for a change after all.
What the public at large will make of Netanyahu's next tentative coalition, which is expected to include the far-right, racist elements of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), remains to be seen.