Netanyahu To Appear In Court Amid Gaza Conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will appear in court on Tuesday for the first time in his long-running corruption trial.
The court has ordered him to begin testifying, despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the wider instability in the Middle East, which includes threats from neighbouring Syria, Reuters reports.
Netanyahu, facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, will be required to testify three times a week.
This trial, which was delayed for over a year due to the war with Hamas, involves accusations of accepting gifts from wealthy friends and allegedly seeking regulatory favours from media tycoons in return for positive coverage.
He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
Ahead of his court appearance, Netanyahu described the legal proceedings as a “witch hunt” aimed at undermining democracy.
“The real threat to democracy in Israel is not posed by the public’s elected representatives, but by some among the law enforcement authorities who refuse to accept the voters’ choice and are trying to carry out a coup with rabid political investigations that are unacceptable in any democracy,” he said.
During a press conference on Monday night, Netanyahu expressed his frustration over the treatment of witnesses and emphasised that he had waited eight years to share his side of the story.
His legal troubles have deeply divided the nation, exacerbated by his government’s controversial attempt to limit the power of the judiciary.
The shock Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war pushed Netanyahu’s trial off the public agenda.
However, political unity has since eroded, with members of his cabinet, including the justice and police ministers, clashing with the judiciary.
At 75, Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and the first in office to face criminal charges.
His domestic legal issues deepened last month when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him and his former defence chief, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
