Any film script based on this real-life drama would be categorized as science fiction or fantasy. Two weeks to the end of his six-year term, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are facing off for a final duel. Israelis of all stripes are watching, some with trepidation, others with hope. Secret negotiations first revealed this week would end Netanyahu’s trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust with a plea bargain.

Israelis are once again torn between those eager to be rid of Netanyahu at all cost, those who want him convicted by a court of law and those who believe the legal system is persecuting their revered leader. The ball is in Netanyahu’s court, or more precisely in the hands of the family board members: Netanyahu, his wife Sara Netanyahu and their son, Yair.

The deadline is near — Jan. 31, when Mandelblit’s term expires. His replacement, who is yet to be chosen, will not be bound by any previous understandings. He or she will not rush to wrap up pending cases. Their reputation will not depend on the outcome of this long-running legal battle. Netanyahu knows that it is now or never. He knows that without a plea deal, chances are he will have to trade in his tailor-made suits for an orange jumpsuit. For now, he seems to be at a loss.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied plans to seek a plea deal with the prosecution, reiterating his mantra that the charges against him were baseless and nothing would come of them. He was initially convinced that the state prosecutor would dismiss the charges, and subsequently certain that the attorney general would not dare go ahead with the prosecution. He then insisted that the charges would collapse at a pre-trial hearing.