Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified in court Tuesday in his trial on corruption charges, an unprecedented moment that comes years after he was indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
Netanyahu has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the cases, which revolve around allegations of bribery and attempting to illicitly shape media coverage. He says the trial is a “witch hunt” meant to take him down politically. He has repeated similar sentiments so far on the stand.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019, the first time a sitting prime minister has been charged in a criminal case, and the trial began in 2020. The proceedings have taken years in part because of pandemic-era restrictions and then because of Israel’s multi-front war that began with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas invasion.
Netanyahu is indicted in three separate cases: One charges that he received illegal gifts from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer, including cigars and champagne. Two others revolve around media coverage. One of them charges that he made a secret deal to limit the distribution of a right-wing newspaper in exchange for favourable coverage from one that criticised him, and another says he made regulatory decisions to benefit an Israeli businessman in exchange for favourable coverage on another news site. He is being questioned on all three.
“This is an opportunity to puncture these ridiculous accusations,” Netanyahu said at the start of his testimony, which came after a statement from his defence attorney. He added, “I was astonished at the extent of the absurdity.”
In addition to responding to questions from his lawyer about the cases, Netanyahu has spent time on the stand talking about his political career and events that occurred during his more than 15 years serving as prime minister. He claimed that the vast majority of Israeli media is “left-wing,” although one of the most widely-read papers, Israel Hayom, is seen as pro-Netanyahu.
He also said favourable media coverage is not important to him, and that if it were, “All I would have needed to do is signal and say that it’s OK, there will be two states” — a Palestinian state alongside Israel, something he has opposed for nearly all of his career. He added, “I would have moved a few steps to the left and been raised up.”
(While Netanyahu interviews on international news outlets relatively frequently, interviews with Israeli media are rarer.)
He also claimed that he dislikes champagne.
His testimony is far from a one-day affair. He is scheduled to appear in court three days a week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., until questioning is finished. The trial is being held in the Jerusalem District Court, but Netanyahu’s testimony is taking place in an underground courtroom in Tel Aviv for security reasons.
Netanyahu and his allies, in addition to decrying the charges themselves, have said the testimony schedule is an unreasonable burden on a prime minister at wartime, but attempts to push it off have been unsuccessful. Several lawmakers from his Likud Party were in the courtroom to watch him take the stand, including Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Amir Ohana, the speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Pro- and anti-Netanyahu protesters also assembled outside the courthouse.
