Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty as his trial on corruption charges resumed in a Jerusalem courtroom, just weeks before national elections in which he hopes to extend his 12-year term.
The PM was indicted last year for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. Specifically, 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.
In recent months, Israelis have held weekly protests calling on Netanyahu to resign over the charges and also criticized his government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Protesters gathered outside the courthouse could be heard inside the room where the hearing was being held.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving leader is also the first sitting Prime Minister to go on trial for corruption. Israeli law requires Cabinet ministers to resign when charged with criminal offenses, but does not specifically address the case of a PM under indictment.
He has denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the charges against him as a “witch-hunt” orchestrated by biased law enforcement and media. Netanyahu has refused to step down and has used his office as a pulpit against critics and the criminal justice system.
At the hearing, his lawyers submitted a written response pleading not guilty and then argued against the cases on procedural grounds, saying the attorney general had not properly approved the investigations in writing.
After about 20 minutes, Netanyahu left the courtroom without explanation and his motorcade departed. His only remarks to the court were that he had nothing to add to his attorney’s response to the charges.
The hearing continued in his absence, with his lawyers arguing for more than an hour that constitutional procedures had not been followed. The judges reportedly appeared “sceptical” and repeatedly called on the defence lawyers to wrap it up. The prosecution then rejected those arguments, saying the attorney general had approved the investigations in dozens of meetings.
The Prime Minister’s attorneys called on the court to postpone evidence hearings for several more months, claiming they had inadequate time to prepare. If granted, the hearings would take place after the upcoming elections.
Outside the courthouse, around 150 protesters chanted against Netanyahu. Many carried banners reading “Crime Minister.”
At the start of his trial last May, Netanyahu said the trial aimed to “depose a strong, right-wing Prime Minister, and thus remove the nationalist camp from the leadership of the country for many years.”
He has served as Israel’s prime minister since 2009, and in the past two years managed to hang onto power through three deadlocked elections. His “delicate” ruling coalition collapsed in December and he now faces a major battle for re-election in March 23 parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu is campaigning on pulling the country out of the pandemic through one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns. He boasts of having personally secured millions of doses from major drug makers, allowing Israel to vaccinate more than a third of its population of 9.3 million. He hopes to vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of March.
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