Netanyahu lashes out at Israeli police chief following news of expected corruption indictment

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to be indicted on corruption charges, according to media sources.

Police investigating him are reportedly set to hand over their recommendations to the attorney general next week.

Ahead of an official announcement, the longstanding leader lashed out at the country's chief of police over accusations he had hired private investigators to dig up dirt on detectives.

Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh said that "powerful figures" had hired people to "sniff around" the detectives investigating Netanyahu.

The premier responded in a Facebook post on Wednesday night, saying Alsheikh's accusation was "so grave" it demanded a separate investigation into police conduct.

"It"s shocking to see that he is repeating the outlandish and false claim that [I] supposedly used private investigators against police officers," Netanyahu added.

The Israeli prime minister is currently under two separate investigations – Cases 1000 and 2000 – that centre around whether he accepted lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors and struck a deal with a newspaper for favourable coverage.

Police chiefs are reportedly in "unanimous agreement" that Netanyahu should be indicted for accepting bribes, according to Ynetnews.

Any recommendation for indictment would be sent to Israel's attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, who then decides whether to prosecute the case.

A December poll by Hadashot TV found that 60 per cent of Israelis said Netanyahu should resign if police recommend charges.