Israel's PM Netanyahu in court to testify in corruption trial

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to testify for the first time in his corruption case.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly sought to delay his appearance in court, is the first sitting prime minister of Israel to face a criminal trial.

He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases.

At Tuesday's hearing, the Israeli premier is expected to take the witness stand for the first time, responding to the allegations and testimonies made against him, including from former close aides.

Several people, including anti-Netanyahu protesters and his supporters, gathered outside the court, while some right-wing lawmakers attended the session, which was held in an underground chamber for security reasons.

An AFP journalist outside the court reported that the prime minister's supporters chanted "Netanyahu, the people support you", while protesters who have been rallying against him for months chanted "Bibi to prison".

"I will speak in court. I am not running away," Netanyahu said at a press conference Monday evening.

"It has been eight years that I have waited for this day, eight years of wanting to present the truth, eight years waiting to completely demolish these absurd and baseless accusations against me," he said, labelling it a "relentless witch hunt".

The trial, which has been delayed many times since it first began in May 2020, is scheduled to last for several months, with an appeals process that could further prolong matters.

Netanyahu, who filed multiple requests to delay the proceedings on the basis of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, denies any wrongdoing.

In the first case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

Among the alleged benefactors are Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian business executive James Packer.

The other two cases allege that Netanyahu attempted to negotiate more favourable coverage in two Israeli media outlets.

One involves alleged attempts by the prime minister to reach a deal with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the popular Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, for better coverage by agreeing to weaken the status of a rival daily newspaper.

The other alleges that Netanyahu received favourable coverage on the popular news website Walla, owned by his close friend Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for smoothing the way for a telecoms merger sought by Elovitch.

Since returning to power in late 2022, Netanyahu's coalition government has clashed with the country's judiciary and law enforcement officials and sparked mass protests by trying to advance legislation that would weaken the courts.

Netanyahu's critics insist the legal cases, and the hearings that have taken place so far, will finally serve justice to a highly corrupt politician who will do anything to stay in power.

They also accuse him of intentionally prolonging the 14-month conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon to evade justice.

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, told AFP that the lengthy and divisive trial had now reached "an important milestone".

Netanyahu, he said, not only faced a conflict of interest being both prime minister and a criminal defendant, but the trial was "putting him in direct confrontation with important institutions in the state, especially the Justice Ministry".

He added that being in such a public setting would likely put Netanyahu outside of his comfort zone. A leader who wields maximum control over his public image, responding to tough questions from prosecutors could pose a serious challenge for him.

On Monday, around a dozen ministers in Netanyahu's coalition sent a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara requesting that the trial be postponed in light of events in Syria and the overall security situation.

The letter followed similar calls by ministers and requests from the prime minister's legal team to postpone his testimony because of Israel's wars and his busy schedule.

The prosecution has argued that it is in the public interest for the trial to conclude as quickly as possible and the court has denied all such petitions, although it has agreed to begin trial days slightly later and occasionally reduce the hearings from three to two days a week due to the prime minister's work.

Other Israeli leaders have been convicted in criminal cases, including former prime minister Ehud Olmert who resigned before his trial began, but Netanyahu is the first to take the stand as a sitting prime minister.