Israel Netanyahu describes trial against himself as persecution
On the eve of his first court hearing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the corruption trial against him as systematic persecution of his person. A "brutal witch hunt" is taking place. At a press conference, he accused the media of spreading lies. At the same time, the 75-year-old announced that he would defend himself against the accusations. "I will talk. I have waited eight years for the day to be able to present the truth," he told journalists.
09.12.2024, 20:44
SDA
The hearing with three judges is to take place in an underground hall of the Tel Aviv District Court. It had been moved from Jerusalem for security reasons. A total of twelve ministers in his cabinet had called for Netanyahu's questioning to be postponed due to the armed conflicts in the region. The judiciary rejected this. This is the first time that a sitting prime minister has stood trial in Israel. The trial could take years.
Accusations: fraud, breach of trust, bribery
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery. Among other things, he is accused of granting benefits to the telecoms giant Bezeq when he was Communications Minister. He is also alleged to have accepted luxury gifts from billionaire friends. "There was no crime, so they made one up," said Netanyahu.
At the first press conference in months, Netanyahu also expressed cautious optimism about an agreement with Hamas. There are "certain developments", but it is still too early to say whether there will be results. Hamas had announced that it was again indirectly negotiating with Israel about a possible exchange of hostages from the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners.
