Netanyahu’s prospects fade as his trial resumes

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed Monday, with a key witness painting a picture of an image-obsessed Israeli leader forcing a prominent news site to flatter his family and smear his opponents.

The testimony came as Mr. Netanyahu’s chances of securing another term in office following last month’s parliamentary elections appeared to be dwindling in high-stakes political talks hosted by the country’s figurehead president just a few miles away.

Taken together, the court testimony and political consultations pointed to an increasingly uphill struggle for Mr. Netanyahu.

In a post-election ritual, President Reuven Rivlin was consulting with the various parties elected to parliament before choosing a candidate to form a new government. With a majority of lawmakers opposed to giving Mr. Netanyahu another term, Mr. Rivlin could give the task to a different candidate.

The consultations “make it more difficult for the president to give the mandate to Netanyahu,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. He said it was “very clear that Netanyahu is not close” to assembling a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Mr. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. Monday’s proceedings, the first in two months, marked the beginning of the evidentiary phase, in which a long line of witnesses are to take the stand against the prime minister.

The session focused on the most serious case against Mr. Netanyahu — in which he is accused of promoting regulations that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of profits to the Bezeq telecom company in exchange for positive coverage on the firm’s popular news site, Walla.

Ilan Yeshua, Walla’s former chief editor, described a system in which Bezeq’s owners, Shaul and Iris Elovitch, repeatedly pressured him to publish favorable things about Mr. Netanyahu and smear the prime minister’s rivals.

The explanation he was given by the couple? “That’s what the prime minister wanted,” he said.

Maya Alleruzzo/Associated Press A protester gestures as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motorcade arrives at the District Court in Jerusalem on Monday. Mr. Netanyahu was back in court for his corruption trial as the country’s political parties were set to weigh in on whether he should form the next government after a closely divided election or step down to focus on his legal woes.