Israel’s ‘crime minister’ Netanyahu traded favours like currency, corruption trial hears
- Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the trial as a ‘coup attempt’, is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust
- Meanwhile, President Reuven Rivlin began talks to determine which leader has the best chance of forming a stable government following the March 23 election
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The 71-year-old veteran premier – who last month contested his fourth election in less than two years – arrived at the Jerusalem courthouse where he was met by supporters but also opponents who called him Israel’s “crime minister”.
Israel’s first premier to be indicted in office was ordered to appear in person at Jerusalem’s District Court for opening arguments in a case where is charged with bribery, fraud of breach of trust.
Later, in a nationally televised statement, Netanyahu said the case against him is threatening to undermine the will of the country’s voters. “This is what a coup attempt looks like,” he said.
Prosecutors said Netanyahu was responsible for regulations that allowed a telecoms power-couple to clinch deals worth “many hundreds of millions of shekels”, in exchange for them sweetening coverage of the premier on a popular news-site then under their control. He has denied the allegations.
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“The relationship between Netanyahu and the (co-) defendants became currency, something that could be traded,” prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari said in presenting so-called Case 4000. “This currency could distort a public servant’s judgment.”
Netanyahu, wearing a black face mask and a dark suit, sat in court as lead prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari told judges that the premier was involved in “a serious case of government corruption”.
Ben-Ari said Netanyahu had “made illegitimate use of the great governmental power entrusted to him,” in his dealings with the media executives “in order to advance his personal affairs”.
With permission from judges, Netanyahu left the courtroom before the prosecution called its first witness, the former chief executive of the Walla news site, Ilan Yeshua.
Yeshua testified that he had regularly received instructions from Netanyahu’s allies to post articles favourable to the prime minister and information that smeared the premier’s rivals.
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“It was clear that we were a website that did what the prime minister’s office asked us,” Yeshua told the court.
According to Yeshua’s testimony, a key target of Netanyahu’s alleged smear campaign was Naftali Bennett, the prime minister’s estranged former protégé who now leads the religious nationalist Yamina party.
That fact now spells a political problem for Netanyahu, who is likely to need Bennett’s support in order to form a government.
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As court proceedings got under way, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin began two days of talks to determine which party leader has the best chance of forming a stable government following the March 23 election.
Israel remains mired in the worst political crisis in its 73-year history, with voters and the 120-member parliament bitterly split over whether Netanyahu deserves to extend his record tenure of 12 consecutive years.
Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party finished first in the polls almost two weeks ago, winning 30 seats, but his path to a 61-seat absolute majority is precarious.
The anti-Netanyahu camp, however, lacks a clear leader, is ideologically divided and will also struggle to forge a majority coalition.
According to custom, Rivlin will give the leader with the most recommendations from individual lawmakers a 28-day window to form a government. That can be extended by 14 days at the president’s discretion.
The recommendations were proceeding as expected, with Likud and the two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, which control 16 seats, endorsing a Netanyahu-led government.
The election’s second place finisher, the centrist Yesh Atid party, used its 17 votes to endorse leader Yair Lapid, a former television host.
Lapid also gained the eight seats controlled by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, who was Netanyahu’s main rival in the three previous elections.
Gantz’s decision to join a short-lived coalition under Netanyahu caused his political support to collapse.
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While Lapid’s final recommendation tally remains uncertain, an anti-Netanyahu alliance would require a tightrope deal among him, Gantz, Likud defector Gideon Saar, Bennett, and a group of left-wing parties.
Yamina has endorsed Bennett for prime minister, in another expected development. But his position could evolve after Rivlin assigns a mandate.
Its leader Mansour Abbas has said he is open to hearing from all sides, but the far-right Religious Zionism party has ruled out sitting in a government with Raam, further complicating Netanyahu’s coalition hopes.
If both the prime minister and the anti-Netanyahu camp fail to form a coalition, Israel could soon face a fifth election.
Additional reporting by Reuters
