Binyamin Netanyahu testified on Tuesday in his long-running corruption trial, becoming the first sitting Israeli prime minister to take the stand as a criminal defendant.
“I have waited eight years for this moment, to tell the truth as I remember it, which is important for justice. There is no justice without truth,” he said. “But I am also a prime minister. I am leading the country through a seven-front war. And I think the two can be done in parallel.”
He described the three separate corruption cases involving alleged gifts, media deals and regulatory favours as “complete lies” and “an ocean of absurdness”. He told the three-member panel of judges at the Tel Aviv district court that the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust were politically motivated because he was the leader of Israel’s right wing, which his opponents sought to topple.
On the first day of his testimony, Mr Netanyahu answered questions posed to him by his defence lawyers, stressing his accomplishments as prime minister, his fortitude under pressure and his efforts to advance a free market for opinions in the media – which he described as dominated by the left – a key part of two of the cases against him. “They told me, ‘Make a Palestinian state and give them half of Jerusalem’. Because I rejected this, the media hated me,” he claimed.
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Mr Netanyahu denied allegations that he lives the good life, saying he is too busy to enjoy leisure time. “I work round the clock, 17 or 18 hours a day, and eat lunch at my desk, then go to bed at one or two in the morning without seeing my family or children. We have no life here. I occasionally enjoy a good cigar but never manage to smoke it entirely because I am interrupted by my work,” he said. “By the way, I loathe champagne.”
[ Netanyahu to begin giving evidence in Israel’s ‘trial of the century’ Opens in new window ]
Mr Netanyahu faces corruption charges in three cases: the first, known as “Case 1,000″ centres on gifts he allegedly received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer; “Case 2,000″ focuses on an illicit deal he allegedly tried to strike with Yediot Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes so as to ensure positive coverage, and “Case 4,000″ centres on an alleged deal by which Shaul Elovitch, then the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq, ensured positive coverage of the Netanyahu family by the Walla! news website, which Mr Elovitch owned, in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulations worth the equivalent of hundreds of millions of euro to the company.
Mr Netanyahu denies all the allegations, claiming the graft claims are nothing more than a witch hunt by the left, supported by the judiciary and media, in an effort to topple him from power.
Several coalition ministers and politicians were present in court to show their support, while outside, rival noisy protests took place. Relatives of the hostages in Gaza held a silent vigil, claiming Mr Netanyahu’s biggest crime was the “abandonment” of the 101 hostages in captivity in Gaza.
It is expected the trial will last at least another year, if not two. Even if Mr Netanyahu is eventually convicted, and assuming he appeals, legally he would be required to resign only after the final judgment of Israel’s supreme court, which could take a further few years.
According to Israeli law, the maximum punishment is 10 years in jail for a bribery conviction, but this scenario is unlikely since the judges have already recommended that the prosecution drop the bribery charges. The punishment for fraud and breach of trust is three years in jail.
