Netanyahu defiant as his corruption trial begins
Israeli leader claims legal proceedings are a witch hunt to topple a strong, Right-wing prime minister
A DEFIANT Benjamin Netanyahu raged against attempts to “topple” him yesterday as he became Israel’s first sitting prime minister to appear in the dock on criminal charges.
As crowds of supporters and opponents gathered outside the courthouse in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu claimed in a statement issued before the hearing: “The objective [of this trial] is to topple a strong, Right-wing prime minister.”
He added: “I stand here with straight back and head held high. I’ll continue to lead the state of Israel.”
The prime minister is accused of committing fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes worth more than one million shekels (£232,000). If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to a decade in prison.
Mr Netanyahu vehemently denies all of the charges, which he has dismissed as a politically motivated “witch hunt” led by Israeli police officers, prosecutors, judges and media figures.
“While the media continues to deal with nonsense, with these false, trumped up cases, I will continue to lead the state of Israel and deal with issues that really matter to you,” he said.
All participants in the 50-minute hearing, including Mr Netanyahu and the judges, were ordered to sit two metres apart and wear face masks as protective measures against coronavirus.
In court, he spoke only to confirm that he understood the charges against him during the long-awaited opening session of his corruption trial.
There are three cases in the trial, named by police as “case 1000”, “case 2000” and “case 4000”.
Case 1000 alleges that the prime minister illegally accepted gifts from public figures including Cuban cigars and champagne; case 2000 accuses the prime minister of plans to manipulate media regulations to the advantage of an Israeli newspaper in return for positive news coverage; and case 4000 accuses him of advancing the business interests of a wealthy businessman in return for positive media coverage.
The Israeli prime minister’s opponents have waited for years to watch him endure the humiliating spectacle of sitting in court as a criminal suspect.
Mr Netanyahu’s lawyers attempted to avoid this with a last-minute request for him to be absent from the hearing, arguing that he did not want the public to foot the bill for his bodyguards and other security expenses. Although that request was struck down, the prime minister was told that he would not be required to attend future hearings.
Mr Netanyahu had previously tried to pass a law that would grant him immunity from prosecution, but this failed due to a lack of support in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The hearing itself was supposed to have already taken place in March but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The trial follows three years of investigations into Mr Netanyahu’s conduct in high office, as well as the country’s worst political crisis in its history, which spanned three inconclusive elections. Those polls were styled as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu’s aggressive and divisive political style, but Benny Gantz, his arch-rival, failed to clinch victory.
Instead, the two leaders joined forces in a national unity government. Under the terms of that deal, Mr Netanyahu will remain prime minister for the next 18 months, at which point Mr Gantz will take over and serve for the same time period.
Mr Netanyahu will not be legally required to step down during the trial despite the severity of the charges and, if convicted, he would have the option of going through an appeal process.
Eyal Rozovsky, his lawyer, also represented former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was jailed for taking bribes after stepping down from the leadership.
Outside the courthouse, anti-netanyahu protesters called on him to resign and labelled him “crime minister”.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu supporters, including senior members of his ruling Likud party, reiterated the claim that he was the victim of a witch hunt.
Ran Carmi Buzaglo, a pro-netanyahu protester, said: “The only reason they forced him to come here, even though the law allows him to be absent, is to show him in the defendant’s chair.”
‘I stand here with straight back and head held high. I’ll continue to lead the state of Israel’