DayofPal– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified in his corruption trial before the Central Court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for the first time in his long-running trial on corruption charges.
Times of Israel reported that the hearings took place in an underground hall at the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court for security reasons, as the Jerusalem District Court lacks adequate security arrangements.
Netanyahu attended the trial accompanied by his son Avner, as well as several ministers and Knesset members from Likud and coalition parties. It comes during the backdrop of the war in Gaza, an incursion by Israeli forces into Syria and a tenuous ceasefire in Lebanon.
Hebrew sources pointed out that one of Netanyahu’s aides entered the courtroom carrying a document labeled “Top Secret” and handed it to Netanyahu. The court indicated that Netanyahu must take stand three times a week with each session lasting six hours according to the set schedule to address cases involving charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
This comes after the judges rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to reduce his testimony days to two per week.
Standing before the court today, Netanyahu has become Israel’s first sitting leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant, marking an unprecedented moment in its political history after nearly five years since his trial on corruption charges began.
Netanyahu has tried for years to avoid appearing in court, with critics accusing him of undermining Israel’s judicial system, most recently by encouraging members of his right wing Likud party to call for the firing of the attorney general.
According to Israeli Channel 12, prosecution files submitted against Netanyahu contained charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases brought to the court more than four years ago.
He is accused of exploiting his office for personal gain; accepting extravagant gifts — including champagne, cigars, jewelry, and other items worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in total — in exchange for diplomatic favors for billionaire friends.
Additionally, he is charged with offering favorable regulatory treatment to one of Israel’s largest media moguls in return for positive media coverage.
The Democratic Party chairman, Yair Golan, said that since Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal indictments in 2020, he “launched a war against the State of Israel.” Golan made these remarks ahead of the start of the prime minister’s testimony in his ongoing corruption trial.
“From that moment on, we were dragged into five election campaigns, a crazy coup that tore the nation apart, and a massacre the likes of which has not been seen since the rise of Zionism,” Golan said.
Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five national elections. “Every trick and stunt Netanyahu tried to do to prevent his trial failed, and he will also fail the test of the trial itself. Israel will win,” he added.
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