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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned after prosecutors decided to charge him with breach of trust.

Mr Lieberman has also resigned as deputy prime minister, and said he would fight to clear his name of the charges.

The case against him relates to a financial scandal dating back more than a decade.

His resignation comes five weeks before Israel’s general election.

“Though I know I committed no crime… I have decided to resign my post as foreign minister and deputy prime minister,” Mr Lieberman said in a statement released by his office.

He also said he would waive his parliamentary immunity and suggested he hoped to settle the case before the elections, due on 22 January, allowing him to stand as a candidate as planned.

“I am doing this because I am convinced that Israel’s citizens should be able to go to the polls after this matter has been settled… and I can continue to serve the state of Israel and Israel’s citizens as part of a strong united leadership,” Mr Lieberman said in the statement.

Mr Lieberman is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu, the second largest party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition government.

AsiaBizToday