Nine months after his first appearance, Benjamin Netanyahu returns to justice on Monday February 8 to defend himself against accusations of corruption ahead of new elections crucial to his political survival.
Pugnacious, the Israeli prime minister denounced
“ridiculous”
charges
at the opening in May 2020 of this trial, the first in Israel's history targeting a head of government in office.
His lawyers then asked the courts for several months to study the evidence against the 71-year-old prime minister.
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In the aftermath of a reduction in health measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and after a postponement of the hearing initially scheduled for January, the Netanyahu and his lawyers are expected Monday morning at the Court of Jerusalem to present the main points of their defense on charges of corruption, fraud and breach of trust in three cases.
In the Bezeq file, also known as the “4,000 Affair”, he is accused of having tried to secure favorable coverage by the Walla site in exchange for government favors which could have brought in millions of dollars to Shaul Elovitch, then boss of the Israeli telecoms giant Bezeq, of which Walla is a part.
At the heart of the matter is the merger in 2015 of Bezeq with the satellite television distributor Yes, which required the approval of the supervisory authorities.
At the time, Netanyahu also held the Communications portfolio.
While he maintained that the Bezeq-Yes merger was relevant, he also maintained that he did not seek favorable coverage from the Walla site in exchange for his approval.
In a second dossier, named Mediagate or “Affaire 2,000”, the Prime Minister is accused of having sought to secure favorable coverage, but this time from the most widely read paid daily in Israel,
Yediot Aharonot
, in exchange for a possible law restricting the circulation of the free newspaper
Israel Hayom
, the main competitor of the
Yediot
.
According to justice, Netanyahu brought up this exchange (favorable cover against the law) with the boss of the
Yediot
, Arnon Moses.
In the end, no agreement was reached.
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In a third case, "The 1,000 Affair," the Israeli prime minister and members of his family are suspected of having received gifts - luxury cigars, bottles of champagne and jewelry - for more than 700,000 shekels (around 175,000 euros ) from personalities, including producer Arnon Milchan, in exchange for financial or personal favors.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he had received a legal opinion from experts concluding that he had the right to accept gifts from close friends, including Arnon Milchan, and denies granting any favors.
During his first appearance, Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not enjoy any immunity, had just formed a unity government with his rival Benny Gantz.
But since then, demonstrations against the Prime Minister - whom protesters call the “Crime Minister” - have multiplied and the ruling coalition has shattered.
As a result, the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu is relaunched with 45 days of new elections (March 23) - the fourth in less than two years - which raises fears about a possible impact on the vote.
Yariv Levin, speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) and close to Benjamin Netanyahu, said in
Israel Hayom
on Sunday that he
feared
"unprecedented interference by the judicial system in the elections"
if the court presented
its evidence
"now"
against the Prime Minister.
This new electoral battle is also far from won for the Prime Minister, holder of the record for the longevity of Israeli heads of government with fifteen years in power, and who hopes to rally a majority of seats to possibly vote for judicial immunity by the following.
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According to the latest polls, his party, Likud, remains in pole position in voting intentions with 29 out of 120 seats, ahead of centrist Yaïr Lapid (17) and right-wing rebel Gideon Saar (14).
But the Likud would not however manage to reach, with its various allies, the threshold of the majority (61).
