TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand for the primary time on Tuesday (Dec 10) in his long-running corruption trial, saying he was being hounded for his hawkish safety insurance policies.
Netanyahu, 75, is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a criminal offense. He’s testifying on the identical time Israel is engaged in a struggle in Gaza and dealing with potential new threats posed by regional turmoil, together with in Syria.
Final week judges dominated that Netanyahu, indicted in 2019, should testify thrice per week, forcing the longtime Israeli chief to juggle between the courtroom and the struggle room at Israel’s Defence Ministry, minutes away from the courthouse.
The chief of the right-wing Likud get together, Netanyahu assailed the Israeli media for what he known as its leftist stance and accused journalists of getting hounded him for years as a result of his insurance policies didn’t align with a push for a Palestinian state.
“I’ve been ready for eight years for this second to inform the reality,” Netanyahu advised the three-judge court docket. “However I’m additionally a first-rate minister … I’m main the nation by way of a seven-front struggle. And I believe the 2 might be achieved in parallel.”
Prosecutors accuse Netanyahu of granting regulatory favours price round 1.8 billion shekels (about US$500 million) to Bezeq Telecom Israel (BEZQ.TA) in return for constructive protection of himself and his spouse Sara on a information web site managed by the corporate’s former chairman.
He’s additionally accused of negotiating a take care of the proprietor of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper for higher protection in return for laws to gradual the expansion of a rival paper.
Netanyahu denies the allegations towards him and has pleaded not responsible. He stood fairly than sat within the witness field all through his morning testimony.
“Had I wished good protection all I might have needed to have achieved can be to sign towards a two-state answer … Had I moved two steps to the left I might have been hailed,” he stated.
In prolonged replies, he portrayed himself as a staunch defender of Israel’s safety, withstanding pressures from worldwide powers and a hostile home media.
