ReutersThis is a notable day for Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu holds the record for longest-serving prime minister. Now, he has become the country’s first serving leader to testify as a defendant in a criminal case.
Furthermore, he did so amid the ongoing war in Gaza and as Israel carried out attacks in Syria in a tumultuous week for the region.
Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, first opened the defense argument, portraying the corruption trial as biased and his client as the victim of a political witch hunt.
Prosecutors “are not investigating a crime, they are pursuing a man,” he said.
Netanyahu later sought to downplay the allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, while emphasizing his political legacy. He strongly denies any wrongdoing.
“I have waited eight years for this moment to tell the truth,” the veteran leader told a court in Tel Aviv.
“But I’m also the prime minister… I’m leading the country through a war on seven fronts and I think both can be done in parallel.”
Over the past four years, prosecutors have alleged that Netanyahu traded legal favors with media owners in Israel to seek positive press coverage.
They also accused him of accepting expensive gifts – including cigars and pink champagne – in exchange for the personal benefit of a millionaire Hollywood producer.
Netanyahu told the three-judge panel that Israeli media had launched “unreasonable” attacks against him for years. He said it was “doubly absurd” to suggest that the gifts he received from wealthy friends were illegal.
In a lengthy criticism, the prime minister, who leads the right-wing Likud party, criticized his country’s media for what he said was their left-wing stance.
He accused Israeli journalists of being hostile toward him for years because he did not participate in promoting the creation of a Palestinian state.
Standing rather than sitting through his testimony, Netanyahu said: “If I want good coverage, all I have to do is signal toward a two-state solution…If I move two steps to otherwise it will be the same for me.” acclaim.”
The Israeli Prime Minister smiled brightly when he first entered the Tel Aviv District Court at around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) and remained until the proceedings ended shortly before 16:00.
The trial was moved from Jerusalem after being delayed for security reasons and convened in a small underground courtroom that also served as a bomb shelter.
Some accredited journalists can come in to report – others have to follow along via a live feed from a room upstairs.
Testifying is expected to take up much of Netanyahu’s time in the coming weeks. Last week, judges ruled that he must appear in court twice this week and then three times a week going forward.
He is expected to move between the court and the war room at the nearby Israeli Defense Ministry.
Prominent ministers were present at the court in the morning to show support for the veteran leader and criticize the legal proceedings.
“The court had to humiliate the Prime Minister, had to disgrace the state of Israel and damage the security of the state,” Likud transport minister Miri Regev said.
“What if they delay his testimony by a few months?”
Outside the courthouse, a line of security guards separated small but rowdy crowds of supporters and opponents of Netanyahu.
Eliza Ziv, from Hadera, northwestern Israel, said that in times of chaos, no Israeli leader can match the Prime Minister’s abilities.
She added that “the hatred of the anti-Netanyahu camp, it’s not just hatred towards him but also towards his supporters”.
Meanwhile, standing on the other side of the courthouse entrance, Siviona from Tel Aviv told me that she considered the veteran leader an “enemy of the people” who had prioritized his political survival. above the best interests of the country.
Some relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza have come forward to demand that more be done to free their loved ones.
Hadas Kalderon’s two children were released as part of a temporary truce last year, while her ex-husband, Ofer, remains imprisoned.
She told the BBC that the prime minister “cares more about his own sins, his private sins, than he cares about his citizens”.
“He doesn’t care about the hostages. That’s sad.”
Before the war in Gaza, Netanyahu’s trial caused deep division in Israel and dominated discussions through five consecutive Israeli elections.
The prime minister’s critics say the current government’s efforts to limit the powers of the judiciary are linked to his legal troubles, although he denies that.
While Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7, 2023 brought unity among the public, that largely shattered as the war it sparked dragged on.
In recent weeks, Israel has reached a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon with the armed group Hezbollah.
But at the same time, there are domestic tensions between key cabinet ministers and the judiciary, with threats to bring about a number of controversial legal reforms.
This trial is expected to conclude in more than a year.
Even if the prime minister is convicted, he can still appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning these legal proceedings are likely to continue to overshadow Israeli politics for the foreseeable future.
