During nearly a full day of testimony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the media of being "98 per cent on the other side" while the majority of the Israeli populace was right-wing.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, became the first sitting premier to be put on trial for corruption after dismissing the charges against him as "ridiculous" in court on Tuesday. As he led a nation at war, Israeli media referred to it as a "historic day" when Mr. Netanyahu was charged in three different cases with bribery, fraud, and violation of public trust.
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I'm interested with issues of global significance." He claimed to have been waiting years to make his case during a press conference on Monday. "It has been eight years that I have waited for this day, eight years of wanting to present the truth, eight years waiting to completely demolish these absurd and baseless accusations against me," he added, describing the proceedings as a "relentless witch hunt" .
"Netanyahu, the people support you" was chanted by cheerleaders outside the court, while "Bibi to prison" was chanted by demonstrators. High-end products Sarah Kritzman, a psychotherapist, demonstrated outside the court, saying, "If, at the end of the trial, it is determined that Mr Netanyahu be sent to prison, then he must go to prison." "I don't think there should be any plea bargain or any kind of pardon just because he is the prime minister."
"I don't think there should be any plea bargain or any kind of pardon just because he is the prime minister." The trial, which has been postponed numerous times since it started in May 2020, is expected to go on for months, and the appeals procedure may make things even longer. Mr. Netanyahu has vehemently denied any misconduct and has submitted numerous requests to postpone the hearings due to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
In the first instance, Mr. Netanyahu and his spouse, Sara, are charged with collecting over $260,000 in luxury items from billionaires, including champagne, jewelry, and cigars, in return for political favors. Australian businessman James Packer and Hollywood director Arnon Milchan, who was born in Israel, are among the alleged benefactors.
Australian businessman James Packer and Hollywood director Arnon Milchan, who was born in Israel, are among the alleged benefactors. According to the other two cases, Mr. Netanyahu tried to bargain for more favorable coverage in two Israeli media sites. One is purported efforts by the prime minister to negotiate greater coverage with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the well-known Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, by agreeing to degrade the standing of a competing daily newspaper.
The other claims that in exchange for facilitating a telecom merger that Shaul Elovitch was pursuing, Mr. Netanyahu was given favorable publicity on Walla, a well-known news website run by his close friend. Mr. Netanyahu's coalition administration has been at odds with the nation's judiciary and law enforcement since regaining power in late 2022. It has also provoked large-scale demonstrations by attempting to pass laws that would weaken the courts.
The court cases, according to Mr. Netanyahu's detractors, will finally bring justice to a very corrupt leader who will stop at nothing to maintain his position of authority. In order to avoid punishment, they further charge him with purposefully extending the 14-month wars in Gaza and Lebanon. "A Significant Milestone" The Israel Democracy Institute's president, Yohanan Plesner, declared that the protracted and contentious trial had now reached "an important milestone".
He claimed that in addition to having a conflict of interest as prime minister and a criminal defendant, Mr. Netanyahu was also "putting himself in direct confrontation with important institutions in the state, especially the justice ministry" on trial.
About a dozen of Mr. Netanyahu's coalition ministers wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Monday, asking that the trial be postponed in light of the current state of affairs in Syria and the security environment in general. Similar requests from ministries and the prime minister's legal team to delay the prime minister's testimony due to Israel's wars and his hectic schedule were followed by the letter.
Although the court has agreed to start the trial a few days later and occasionally cut the hearings from three to two days a week due to the prime minister's work, the prosecution has maintained that it is in the public interest for the trial to end as soon as possible. Although other Israeli politicians, such as former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who resigned before his trial started, have been found guilty in criminal cases, Mr. Netanyahu is the first to testify in his capacity as prime minister.
