Netanyahu pleads not guilty

ISRAELI Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty as his trial on corruption charges resumed yesterday in a Jerusalem courtroom just weeks before national elections in which he hopes to extend his 12-year rule.

Netanyahu was indicted last year for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. He stands accused of accepting lavish gifts from wealthy friends and offering to grant favours to powerful media moguls in exchange for favourable coverage of him and his family.

Israel’s longest-serving leader is also the first sitting prime minister to go on trial for corruption. The latest hearing was postponed last month due to lockdown restrictions on public gatherings.

In recent months, Israelis have held weekly protests calling on him to resign over the charges and criticising his government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Israeli law requires cabinet ministers to resign when charged with criminal offences, but does not specifically address the case of a prime minister under indictment. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the charges against him as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by biased law enforcement and media.