TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand Tuesday for the primary time in his long-running trial on corruption fees. However lengthy earlier than these accusations emerged, Netanyahu has been vexed by a flurry of embarrassing scandals and allegations.
Netanyahu persistently and vehemently denies wrongdoing and has assailed investigations into his conduct or that of his household as witch hunts pushed by a hostile media and a biased justice system.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives on the district court docket in Tel Aviv for his long-running trial for alleged corruption, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/Pool Photograph through AP)
Right here’s a take a look at among the scandals which have beset Netanyahu, his household and his aides since he started to dominate Israel’s political scene.
Submarine suspicions
Shut confidants of Netanyahu are suspected of receiving bribes to advance a deal to buy submarines and different warships from Germany. Netanyahu just isn’t a suspect in that case. However a state fee of inquiry trying into the affair earlier this yr despatched a letter to the prime minister warning him that he may very well be harmed by its conclusions.
The committee didn’t element the exact accusations in opposition to Netanyahu, however painted an image of improper decision-making at a number of ranges in authorities, the protection institution and the navy. He denies wrongdoing.
Leaked and doctored paperwork
A spokesperson for the Israeli chief has been charged with leaking categorised data to German tabloid “Bild” that indictments alleged harmed Israel’s wartime safety and pursuits. Netanyahu himself has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Critics say the leak was meant to sway public opinion to be extra in favor of Netanyahu’s negotiating positions with Hamas, and diminish public stress on him to succeed in a deal to launch hostages held by the militants. One other Netanyahu aide is being investigated for doctoring paperwork, a transfer critics say was meant to guard Netanyahu from future investigations into his wartime conduct.
Huge spending
His spouse, Sara, has additionally been charged with misusing some $100,000 in public funds to order lavish meals from movie star cooks on the prime minister’s official residence, despite the fact that she already had cooks on the federal government payroll. She agreed to pay $15,000 for misusing state funds as a part of a plea deal.
Allegations additionally mounted in opposition to the Netanyahus for utilizing authorities cash to buy furnishings for his or her non-public seashore home and to cowl the medical bills of Sara Netanyahu’s late father. The lawyer normal in the end dismissed the allegations.
Flying excessive
Netanyahu was suspected of double billing journey bills and utilizing state funds to cowl private journey within the 2000s, whereas he was finance minister and opposition chief. After a drawn-out investigation, the lawyer normal dismissed the case.
Sad family
Netanyahu’s family workers has repeatedly accused Sara Netanyahu of explosive tirades and mistreatment.
Two family aides have gained damages in lawsuits accusing Sara Netanyahu of abusive conduct. In 2016, a Jerusalem court docket awarded one home employee over $42,000 in damages. Netanyahu and his spouse have each rejected the accusations. In 2018, a recorded cellphone dialog surfaced of the prime minister’s spouse screaming at her publicist about how a gossip column omitted point out of her instructional credentials.
Joyride
In 2018, a recording surfaced of Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair, joyriding together with his super-rich buddies to Tel Aviv strip golf equipment in a drunken night time out in a taxpayer-funded authorities car. He later apologized.
The 33-year-old Netanyahu has additionally sparked controversy for lewd and offensive social media posts through the years, similar to his publishing a caricature that drew on traditional antisemitic tropes. Fb briefly suspended his account after he wrote he would like an Israel with none Muslims.
Mistress leak
Again within the Nineteen Nineties, rumors circulated {that a} videotape existed depicting Netanyahu and his picture marketing consultant, a married girl named Ruth Bar, in “compromising romantic situations.” In response, Netanyahu went on tv and confessed to adultery, despite the fact that the tape by no means turned up.
Affect peddling
Throughout his first time period in workplace within the Nineteen Nineties, Netanyahu was suspected of appointing a crony as lawyer normal in alternate for political help from the ultra-religious Shas get together. Prosecutors referred to as Netanyahu’s conduct “puzzling” however in the end closed the case, citing lack of proof.
Lining pockets
Throughout that very same spell in workplace, Netanyahu and his spouse had been suspected of pocketing presents and international contributions acquired from world leaders — gadgets thought of state property. The Netanyahus additionally had been suspected of accepting favors from a contractor. Each circumstances had been closed with out fees.
