Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to begin giving evidence on Tuesday in a case, in which he faces corruption charges, that has been dubbed Israel’s “trial of the century”.
Police opened investigations against him eight years ago and it is almost five years since he was indicted, making him the first serving prime minister in Israel’s history to go on trial. He is accused of fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, including one in which he also faces the more serious charge of bribery.
Mr Netanyahu has done everything he can to avoid reaching this moment, with his legal team using every avenue at their disposal, with some success, to delay the proceedings.
Judges rejected the argument that regular appearances by Netanyahu at the same venue constituted a security risk, but did consent to move the proceedings from Jerusalem to an underground chamber at the Tel Aviv district court.
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Netanyahu subsequently tried to spread out his testimony for as long as possible, requesting two short hearings a week, but the judges also rejected this, ruling that he must appear in three full sessions over consecutive days each week.
The court also rejected the claim from parliament speaker Amir Ohana that the Knesset must co-ordinate with Netanyahu when setting the dates for the testimony – a decision Ohana described as a violation of the separation of powers.
The dramatic events in Syria in recent days have prompted a number of ministers to urge the court to delay Netanyahu’s testimony for three months, to enable him to devote all his time to a crisis which could affect Israel’s security for years to come. Others cited the ongoing war in Gaza and the attempts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal as a reason to delay the testimony.
The judges, however, have clearly lost patience with the defence team’s attempts to delay the trial and ruled that the public interest demands the proceedings proceed without delay.
In the first case, known as “Case 1,000″, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to grant a tax break to his billionaire friend Arnon Milchan in exchange for lavish gifts from the tycoon, who supplied regular deliveries of expensive cigars for Netanyahu and champagne for his wife Sara, who also received jewellery. Netanyahu also asked US secretary of state at the time, John Kerry, to assist with Milchan’s US visa request.
“Case 2,000″ centres on an allegation that Netanyahu asked the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper for more positive coverage in exchange for help in reining in a rival publication, the popular, pro-Netanyahu free newspaper Yisrael Hayom, owned by now-deceased American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, a close friend of the prime minister at the time.
“Case 4,000″, the only one that includes allegations of bribery, involves claims that Netanyahu ensured financial benefits for telecom mogul Shaul Elovitch in return for favourable coverage on a popular news website owned by Elovitch.
Netanyahu denies all the allegations and claims they are nothing more than a witch-hunt by the left, supported by the judiciary and media, in an effort to topple him from power.
Prosecutors have already called 140 witnesses to the stand, including some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants, who have turned against him. A new documentary, The Bibi Files, banned in Israel, shows footage of Netanyahu and his wife being questioned by police. He denounces those who testified against him as liars, and, when questioned on the specific graft allegations, time and again responded that he couldn’t remember.
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