What is the latest on Netanyahu’s corruption trial?
APRIL 27, 2023
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break, refocusing the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary.
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing.
Critics say that Netanyahu is driven to weaken the courts and change the judicial system as a way to open an escape route from his trial, claims he dismisses as untrue.
The corruption charges also have been at the center of a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years — each vote essentially a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule. After losing power in 2021 to a coalition of opponents, Netanyahu returned as prime minister late last year, despite his legal problems. Under Israeli law, the prime minister has no obligation to step aside while on trial.
Here is a look at the ongoing trial:
WHERE DO THINGS STAND?
The trial, which began in May 2020, has featured more than 40 prosecution witnesses, including some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned against the premier. Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but also revealed sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living off the largesse of taxpayers and wealthy supporters. One former aide and a key prosecution witness called him a “control freak” when it came to his public image in the media. Another witness described expensive gifts lavished on Netanyahu and his wife, including pink champagne and cigars.
The trial was jolted by Israeli media reports that police used sophisticated phone-hacking spyware on a crucial state witness. With the trial now resuming after the Jewish Passover holiday, a top police investigator is testifying. The defense, in its cross examination, will likely try to poke holes in the way the police carried out its investigation.
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File – Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the Israel’s judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 18, 2023. Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break. The resumption refocuses the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
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FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering the district court in Jerusalem, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break. The resumption refocuses the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Yonatan Sindel/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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FILE – A man wears a mask depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem during a protest against the appointment of Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party as the country’s new health minister, Thursday, Jan, 5, 2023. Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break. The resumption refocuses the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)
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FILE – Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest moments after the Israeli leader fired his defense minister, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 26, 2023. Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break. The resumption refocuses the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)Read More
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FILE – People hold a bust of Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as Roman emperor in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, March 27, 2023. Tens of thousands protested Monday Netanyahu’s drive for judicial overhaul plan. Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a month-long break. The resumption refocuses the spotlight on the long-serving leader’s legal woes after a wave of protests over his government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)