By TIA GOLDENBERG, Related Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to take to the witness stand Tuesday for the primary time in his trial on corruption allegations, a pivotal level within the drawn-out proceedings that comes because the chief wages conflict in Gaza and faces a global arrest warrant for conflict crimes fees.
At dwelling, Netanyahu is on trial for accusations of fraud, breach of belief and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, however his look on the witness stand might be a low level in his decades-long political profession, standing in distinction to the picture of a complicated, revered chief he has tried to domesticate.
The trial will take up a bit of Netanyahu’s time at an important level for Israel. Whereas he makes his case for weeks from the stand, he’ll nonetheless be tasked with managing the conflict in Gaza, sustaining a fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and holding tabs on threats from the broader Center East, together with Iran.
FILE – Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems on the Jerusalem District Courtroom, East Jerusalem, March 23, 2022. (Flash 90/Pool Photograph by way of AP, File)
It is going to be the primary time an Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a felony defendant, and Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings, citing the continuing Gaza conflict and safety considerations. The judges ordered the trial to renew Tuesday, shifting the proceedings to an underground chamber in a Tel Aviv court docket as a safety precaution.
Netanyahu’s look within the courtroom may even draw consideration to different authorized points within the Israeli chief’s orbit. Shut advisers in his workplace are embroiled in a separate collection of scandals surrounding leaked categorized info and doctored paperwork. Whereas Netanyahu will not be suspected of direct involvement in these, they may weaken his public picture.
Here’s a take a look at the continuing trial.
The place does Netanyahu’s trial stand?
The trial, which started in 2020, includes three separate circumstances through which prosecutors say Netanyahu exchanged regulatory favors with media titans for favorable press protection and superior the private pursuits of a billionaire Hollywood producer in change for lavish items.
Prosecutors have known as roughly 140 witnesses to the stand — fewer than the 300 initially anticipated to testify.
FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, heart, arrives on the District Courtroom in Jerusalem, Israel, June 25, 2023. (Atef Safadi/Pool by way of AP, File)
These witnesses have included a few of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned in opposition to him, in addition to a former prime minister, former safety chiefs and media personalities. Legal professionals have submitted 1000’s of things of proof — recordings, police paperwork, textual content messages.
A brand new documentary, “The Bibi Files,” has shined new mild on the circumstances by acquiring footage of Netanyahu being questioned by police, in addition to interrogations of his spouse and a few key witnesses. In a glimpse of what may be anticipated within the courtroom, Netanyahu seems each combative and anxious at instances, accusing police of unfairly selecting on him and denigrating different witnesses as liars.
FILE – All 15 of Israel’s Supreme Courtroom justices seem for the primary time within the nation’s historical past to have a look at the legality of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul in Jerusalem on Sept. 12, 2023. (Debbie Hill/Pool by way of AP, File)
The prosecution known as to the stand its remaining witness over the summer time, bringing to an finish three years of testimony and setting the stage for the protection to put out its case, with Netanyahu its first witness. Netanyahu’s look will give Israelis an opportunity to see the long-serving Israeli chief reply to the costs earlier than the three-judge panel.
What are some notable moments from Netanyahu’s trial?
The prosecution has sought to painting Netanyahu as media-obsessed, to push its narrative that he would break the regulation for favorable protection.
Witness accounts have shed mild not solely on the three circumstances but additionally on sensational particulars about Netanyahu’s character and his household’s popularity for dwelling lavishly on the backs of taxpayers and rich supporters.
FILE – Police disperse individuals protesting in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities and calling for the discharge of hostages held within the Gaza Strip by Hamas close to the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photograph/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
One former aide and a key prosecution witness known as him a “control freak” over his picture. One other witness described costly items for Netanyahu and his spouse.
Arnon Milchan, an Israeli producer of Hollywood blockbuster movies equivalent to “Pretty Woman,” took the stand final 12 months by videoconference, describing how he routinely delivered tens of 1000’s of {dollars} of champagne, cigars and different items requested by the Israeli chief.
One key witness, a former prime aide to Netanyahu, shocked prosecutors by backtracking from his earlier claims in opposition to the prime minister, opening the door for the protection to erode his credibility as a witness. The trial was jolted by Israeli media studies that police used subtle phone-hacking software program to spy on this witness.
What occurs subsequent in Netanyahu’s trial?
The prosecution formally rested its case in July, and the court docket recessed for the summer time and fall. The protection has repeatedly requested for delays in Netanyahu’s testimony, which have principally been denied.
Like different witnesses, Netanyahu will testify three days every week, for hours at a time, and his testimony is predicted to final weeks. The protection will search to depict Netanyahu as a law-abiding chief who was a sufferer of careless and biased police investigations.
Netanyahu’s critics have sought to attract a transparent line between the circumstances and the conflict in Gaza. They are saying the allegations led Netanyahu to advertise a contentious judicial overhaul plan final 12 months that bitterly divided the nation and created a picture of weak point that inspired the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that triggered the conflict.
Netanyahu’s critics, together with households of hostages held by Hamas, now accuse him of dragging out the battle — and risking the lives of their family members — to keep away from an embarrassing investigation and new elections that would pressure him from energy.
If he’s ultimately voted out of energy, being away from the prime minister’s seat would make it tougher for Netanyahu to rail in opposition to the justice system and delegitimize the decision within the eyes of the general public.
A verdict isn’t anticipated till 2026 — at the least — after which Netanyahu can select to enchantment to the Supreme Courtroom. Israel’s courts are notoriously sluggish, and the case was additional delayed final 12 months when courts went on hiatus for 2 months after conflict broke out following Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the US, Canada and the European Union.
As soon as the protection rests, all sides will summarize their circumstances earlier than judges convene to deliberate over Netanyahu’s destiny.
Initially Revealed: December 9, 2024 at 11:58 AM EST
