Israel’s sitting Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is currently standing trial over corruption charges and misusing his office for political gains. His prosecutors say that the PM used his office to help a business couple cinch deals worth hundreds of millions in exchange for favourable publicity on their news platform.
Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving leader with a 12-year record and this is the first time a sitting Prime Minister will be tried in office. He is expected to continue his duties until found guilty and has exhausted all his appeals which could take years.
The state prosecutor, Liat Ben-Ari likened the relationship between Netanyahu and his co-defendants (Shaul and Iris Elovitch) to a trade/currency based arrangement.
He “made illegitimate use of the great governmental power entrusted to him,” in his dealings with media executives “in order to advance his personal affairs – including when he faced his desire to be re-elected,” she said.
Liat Ben-Ari
Netanyahu has, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud levelled against him and attributed all the uprising to an attempted coup. His trial begun yesterday, he was present and sat in the Jerusalem District as the allegations were levelled against him.
In reaction, he accuses the prosecution of acting illegally by erasing recordings and discarding testimonies that did not fit into their preconceived notions and described the entire process as a witch hunt. In his words
That is how they try to bring down a strong prime minister from the right. That is what an attempted administrative coup looks like.” –
Benjamin Netanyahu
In the midst of his trial, the Israeli President is looking to establish a new government. He began a two-day consultation exercise with party officials to nominate a candidate with the highest possibility of success.