Israeli Prime Minister rejects “absurd” accusations

This was an extraordinary day for Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu holds the record for being the longest-serving prime minister. He has now become the country’s first sitting leader to take the witness stand as a defendant in a criminal case.

Furthermore, it did so amid the ongoing war in Gaza and as Israel carries out attacks in Syria during a tumultuous week for the region.

Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, was the first to open the defense argument, presenting the corruption trial as biased and his client as the victim of a political witch hunt.

Prosecutors, he said, “were not investigating a crime, they were chasing a man.”

Netanyahu then sought to downplay allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and highlighted his political legacy. He flatly denies any wrongdoing.

“I have been waiting for eight years for this moment to tell the truth,” the veteran leader told the Tel Aviv court.

“But I’m also prime minister… I’m leading the country through a war on seven fronts, and I think the two can be done in parallel.”

For the past four years, prosecutors have alleged that Netanyahu traded regulatory favors with media owners in Israel in search of positive press coverage.

He is also accused of accepting expensive gifts, including cigarettes and pink champagne, in exchange for promoting the personal interests of a millionaire Hollywood producer.

Netanyahu told the three-judge panel that the Israeli media had launched “absurd” attacks against him over the years. He said it was “doubly absurd” to suggest that gifts he had received from wealthy friends were illicit.

In a lengthy tirade, the prime minister, who leads the right-wing Likud party, criticized his country’s media for what he suggested was its leftist stance.

He accused Israeli journalists of hostility toward him over the years because he did not join the push for a Palestinian state.

Standing, rather than sitting, during his testimony, Netanyahu said: “If I had wanted good coverage, all I would have had to do was point to a two-state solution… If I had moved two steps to the left , would have been greeted.”

The Israeli Prime Minister smiled broadly when he first entered the Tel Aviv District Court around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) and remained there until the proceedings concluded shortly before 16:00.

The trial was moved from Jerusalem after being delayed for security reasons and was held in a small underground room that also serves as a bomb shelter.

A limited number of accredited journalists were allowed in to report; others had to follow him via livestream 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 thereafter.

He is expected to travel between the court and the war room of the nearby Israeli Defense Ministry.

Prominent ministers appeared at the court during the morning to show their support for the veteran leader and criticize the judicial process.

“The court had to humiliate the prime minister, dishonor the State of Israel and harm the security of the State,” said Likud Transport Minister Miri Regev.

“What would have happened if they had postponed their testimony for a few months?”

Outside the court, a line of security guards kept small but noisy crowds of people supporting and protesting Netanyahu apart.

Eliza Ziv, from Hadera, northwest Israel, said that in times of turmoil, no other Israeli leader came close to the Prime Minister’s capabilities.

He added that “the hatred of the anti-Netanyahu camp is not only hatred towards him, but towards his followers.”

Meanwhile, standing on the other side of the courthouse entrance, Siviona from Tel Aviv told me that she saw the veteran leader as “an enemy of the people” who prioritized his political survival over the country’s best interests.

Some relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza came to press for more to be done to free their loved ones.

Hadas Kalderon’s two children were freed as part of a temporary truce last year, while her ex-husband, Ofer, remains in captivity.

He told the BBC that the prime minister “cares more about his own sins, his private sins, than he does about his citizens.”

“He doesn’t care about the hostages. It’s very sad.”

Before the war in Gaza, Netanyahu’s trial opened deep divisions in Israel and dominated discourse during five successive Israeli elections.

The prime minister’s critics saw his current government’s efforts to limit the powers of the judiciary as linked to his legal problems, although he denied this.

While the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 generated public unity, it has largely collapsed as the war it triggered has dragged on.

In recent weeks, Israel has reached a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon with the armed group Hezbollah.

But at the same time, there have been renewed internal tensions between key cabinet ministers and the judiciary, with threats to reinstate some controversial legal reforms.

This trial is not expected to conclude for more than a year.

Even if the prime minister were found guilty, he could appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning these legal proceedings will continue to overshadow Israeli politics for the foreseeable future.