Financial news

Israel court resumes PM Netanyahu corruption trial – JURIST

Israeli prosecutors resumed the corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israeli Minister of Justice Yaris Levin lifted the country’s state of emergency on December 1. The trial had been on hold since September 20, when the courts adjourned for Rosh Hashanah. The trial was then again postponed due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Netanyahu was first charged in November 2019 on three cases known as case number 4000, 2000 and 1000. Case 4000 and 2000 addressed bribery and breach of trust while case 1000 charged Netanyahu with breach of trust for gift taking. On Sunday, according to local media reports, Netanyahu’s defense counsel motioned for a continuance of the trial after some of its staff were drafted into the Israeli Defence Forces to fight in the Israel-Hamas war. However, the panel of judges overseeing the trial denied the motion for continuance in part, claiming that the case needed to end. One of the judges, Judge Rebecca Friedman Feldman, suggested the courts do a marathon to finish it. The courts did agree to a separate defense motion to reduce the number of weekly hearings from three hearings to two because Netanyahu is unable to prepare for the testimonies of key witnesses in light of the ongoing war. The judges said on Tuesday that this would mean that the court would not hear testimony related to case 1000 and 2000 at the same time as case 4000. “A significant portion” of witnesses set to be heard in cases 1000 and 2000 “are significant witnesses, whose testimony requires preparation in coordination and together with the prime minister,” said Amit Hadad, Netanyahu’s lawyer said in a written statement to the court. He added that “under the current circumstances, in the midst of the Swords of Iron war”—the Israeli name for the Israeli-Hamas war—”we are unable to maintain the contact we need to have with the prime minister in order to prepare for the planned testimonies.”Netanyahu continues to deny any wrongdoing and claims that the charges are a form of state prosecution fabricated by the police. He refuses to step down and maintains that he is capable of standing trial while remaining in office. Israeli Justice Minister Dodi Amsalem attacked the resumption of the trial on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, claiming that it is a disgrace to renew Netanyahu’s trial while the war is ongoing.