Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be brought before the counter on Tuesday on charges of corruption.
He has tried to have the process postponed, but now says he is looking forward to giving his view on the matter.
In a long-running legal process, Netanyahu is accused of fraud, bribery and disloyalty to a principal. It is the first time that an Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.
Netanyahu sought to have his scheduled testimony postponed or shortened. His representatives argued that he had limited opportunities to prepare alongside Israel’s ongoing multi-front war, but the Jerusalem District Court ruled that he had been given sufficient time, at least five months.
Gifts and media
The accusations include that Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara allegedly accepted bribes in the form of gifts worth the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of kroner, in order to promote the business interests of a film producer. It is also about the Prime Minister allegedly having Israel’s media laws changed in a way that would benefit large media owners – in exchange for more favorable reporting about himself and his family.
Netanyahu himself describes it as a politically motivated witch hunt run by a biased judiciary.
For eight years I have waited for this day. For eight years I have been waiting to present the truth, he said on Monday night, describing the accusations as fabricated and completely absurd.
Questioned in several places
A prime minister convicted of a crime does not have to resign under Israeli law. However, scores of Israelis have protested Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war and the hostage situation in Gaza. Before that, an attempt to limit the independence of the judiciary with a new package of laws had caused huge protests.
Since a few weeks ago, Netanyahu is also the subject of an international arrest warrant for suspected war crimes.