JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty on Monday as his corruption trial resumed in a Jerusalem courtroom just weeks before the national election, in which he hopes to extend his rule. for 12 years.
Netanyahu was charged last year with fraud, breach of trust and acceptance of bribes in three separate cases. In recent months, Israelis have been holding weekly protests, urging them to resign over allegations and criticizing their government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Protesters gathered in front of the court could be heard in the courtroom.
He is accused of accepting generous gifts from rich friends and offering to give favors to powerful media moguls in exchange for favorable coverage of him and his family.. The last hearing was postponed last month due to restrictions on blocking public meetings.
Israel’s longest-serving leader is also the first prime minister on trial for corruption. Israeli law requires Cabinet ministers to resign when accused of crimes, but does not specifically address the case of an accused prime minister.
Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations against him as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by law enforcement and biased media. He refused to resign and used his office as a pulpit for aggressors against critics and the criminal justice system.
At Monday’s hearing, Netanyahu’s lawyers presented a written answer pleading not guilty. They then pleaded against the cases for procedural reasons, saying the prosecutor general did not approve the written investigations properly.
After about 20 minutes, Netanyahu left the courtroom without explanation, and his highway left.
The hearing continued in his absence, with his lawyers claiming for more than an hour that constitutional proceedings had not been followed. The judges appeared skeptical and repeatedly asked the defense lawyers to conclude it. The prosecution then rejected these arguments, saying the prosecutor general approved the investigations in dozens of hearings.
Outside the court, about 150 protesters chanted against Netanyahu. Many carried banners that read “Minister of Crime.”
“We want a new government, a clean, corruption-free government,” said Sharon Sagy, a protester. “We don’t want Bibi Netanyahu, we want him to leave, he has to leave,” she said, using her nickname.
At the beginning of the trial in May last year, Netanyahu was flanked by a cohort of Likud allies, while speaking out against the media, police, judges and prosecutors. He said the process was aimed at “removing a strong, right-wing prime minister and thus removing the nationalist camp from leading the country for many years”.
Netanyahu has been Israeli prime minister since 2009 and, in the past two years, has managed to cling to power through three tumultuous, stalled elections. His weak ruling coalition collapsed in December and is now facing a major battle for re-election in the March 23 parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu hopes to campaign after pulling the country out of the pandemic through one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world. He boasts that he has personally secured millions of doses from major drug manufacturers, allowing Israel to vaccinate more than a third of its 9.3 million population. He hopes to vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of March.
But his government has faced heavy criticism for other aspects of its response to the crisis. The country is only now beginning to emerge from the third blockade at the national level, and the closures have led to rising unemployment.
An emergency government formed in May last year to fight the coronavirus outbreak has been shot in fights. The country’s leaders have struggled to adopt coherent policies and have repeatedly accused each other of playing pandemic politics. Meanwhile, Israel has reported nearly 700,000 cases since the outbreak began, including 5,121 deaths.
A major controversy concerns Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, many of which have openly violated restrictions on public gatherings.. Netanyahu will need ultra-Orthodox parties to form a ruling coalition, and his critics accuse him of turning a blind eye to their violations.
Polls show that Netanyahu’s Likud is winning the most seats, but is fighting to form a 61-seat majority coalition in the Israeli parliament’s Knesset. The margin of victory could be extremely narrow, potentially allowing a small party to decide who leads the next government.
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Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss of Jerusalem contributed to this report.