Netanyahu corruption trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s trial for three graft charges will begin on Sunday, more than two months after Israel’s historic third election in less than a year, which ended inconclusively and contributed to the establishment of a unity cabinet. Netanyahu becomes Israel’s first serving Prime Minister to go on jail.

Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three different controversies.

The accusations against him involved claims that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in champagne and cigars from billionaire associates, tried to swap favors with a newspaper editor, and exploited his leverage to support a rich telephone magnate in return for positive publicity on a prominent web portal.
Netanyahu, who has acted as the prime minister for 11 years, was arrested in November after a three-year probe.

Netanyahu, in response, said the indictment stemmed from “false accusations” and a systematically “tainted investigation.” He claimed to be the victim of a witch hunt involving political rivals, the media, police and prosecutors, all pressuring a “weak” attorney general, The Times of Israel reported.

Netanyahu’s trial was supposed to begin in March, but was postponed after part of the judicial system was suspended by his justice minister owing to a coronavirus epidemic.

Israel’s current government was sworn in on May 17 after three national elections in less than a year, both of which ended inconclusively with neither Netanyahu nor his opponent Benny Gantz having the necessary parliamentary majority.

In spite of the coronavirus epidemic and the urge to postpone another referendum, Gantz lowered his resistance to serving in a cabinet with the suspected Netanyahu. Under their power-sharing deal, the two will share the Prime Minister’s position for the next three years with Netanyahu in the first 18 months.

Under the deal, Gantz and Netanyahu manage an equal amount of government departments and legislative committees and effectively have veto authority on certain important decisions.

The hearing will take place at the Jerusalem District Court, where proof will be heard to a jury of three judges.

Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman will lead the commission, which will also include Judges Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham, Haaretz said, noting that the plurality of judges are considered to be strict on corruption.

The newspaper reported that Arnon Mozes, the editor of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth; Shaul Elovitch, the Bezeq telecommunications company’s former president, and his wife Iris have all been implicated in the cases.
The Jerusalem District Court acknowledged that Health Ministry ‘s social distancing directives will be enforced, and that citizens in the courtroom must be forced to wear face masks and sit more than 6 feet apart, states The Times of Israel.