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Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges is ongoing in Jerusalem
In the most serious case, Netanyahu was accused of advancing the benefits of an arrangement worth more than 1 billion shekels (more than $ 283 million) to support a telecommunications company controlled by a billionaire friend, prosecutors said. In exchange, Netanyahu received favorable coverage from news sites, even affecting word order and story selection, prosecutors said.
The Sunday process is finished in less than an hour, because it is mostly procedural.
“I read the charges and I understand the contents,” Netanyahu told the court.
He has not pleaded, but he has repeatedly pleaded not guilty.
Before taking place in the courtroom, he made a statement with a senior member of his Likud Party standing behind him.
He described his charges as “sewing” – an attempt by Israeli media and liberal elites to overthrow him and block his right wing.
The media is only looking to film him sitting on the bench, Netanyahu said, adding that he would ask the court to send the entire trial directly.
“I am here as your Prime Minister, with my back straight and proud,” he told those watching at home. “When society is open to the whole truth, the cases will be destroyed.”
Participants in the small district courtroom wore masks, even while talking. When the three judges entered, Netanyahu remained standing. He sat down only after the cameraman was taken out of the room, according to an earlier agreement on court procedures.
In a discussion about the schedule, defense lawyer Micha Fetman said he was new to the team and needed time to read all the material, according to prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari Shweky which would take about three months.
Fetman called on all defendants – Netanyahu, along with two businessmen and one of the businessman’s wives – to be released from attending each court session, procedural hearings in particular, and prosecutors not to oppose the move.
The trial was postponed until July 19, although it could take months before the prosecution opened.
Under Israeli law, Netanyahu does not have to resign on charges. In exchange, he must resign only if he is found guilty and that the sentence is upheld through an appeal process.
In a tweet sent when the trial ended, Netanyahu’s main ally, Benny Gantz, wrote that Netanyahu was innocent until proven guilty and expressed confidence that the legal system would provide the Prime Minister with a fair trial.
Gantz, Israel’s new successor prime minister, has previously campaigned in three elections on the grounds that he never sat in the same government as the accused prime minister.
“I want to emphasize again that my colleague and I fully trust our legal system and law enforcement agencies. Now, perhaps more than ever, we must move towards unity and conciliation, as a state and as a society, for the State of Israel and all its citizens, “Gantz tweeted on Sunday.
Oren Liebermann and Eliott C. McLaughlin from CNN contributed to this report.
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