Bibi court drama begins
First sitting Israeli PM to go on trial denies corruption raps
Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday became the first serving Israeli prime minister to go on trial, proclaiming his innocence in the corridor before walking into court to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
The hearing began a week after Israel’s longest-serving leader was sworn in to a record fifth term, demonstrating his knack for survival by securing an unexpected power-sharing deal with his main opponent after three inconclusive elections in a year. He says the cases against him are a left-wing plot to unseat him.
Netanyahu, 70, was indicted in November in cases involving gifts from millionaire friends and for allegedly seeking regulatory favors for media tycoons in return for positive coverage.
He appeared at Jerusalem District
Court flanked by a clutch of Cabinet ministers from his rightwing Likud party.
In the courtroom, Netanyahu and the judges wore face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the judges asked Netanyahu whether he had read and understood the indictment. He replied, “Yes, your Honor.”
The hearing lasted an hour. The court excused Netanyahu from appearing in person at the next hearing, set for July 19. Analysts say the trial could last for months — or years.
Before the hearing, Netanyahu appealed to public opinion, taking off his mask to address television cameras in the courthouse hallway.
“These investigations were tainted and stitched-up from the first moment,” he said. “I am appearing here today, as your prime minister, standing tall and with head high.”
Supporters, some in masks, rallied outside the East Jerusalem building, their chants of “Bibi, King of Israel,” audible in the courthouse.
Anti-Netanyahu demonstrators, meanwhile, gathered outside his Jerusalem residence with a banner reading, “Crime Minister,” a slogan that also appeared on some face masks.
Netanyahu, in power now for 11 straight years plus three in the 1990s, kept the position of prime minister by securing the powersharing deal last month with centrist former general Benny Gantz.
The pact also opens the way for Netanyahu to proceed toward a pledged annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians seek for a state.
Bribery charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine. Fraud and breach-of-trust charges carry a prison sentence of up to three years.