Criminal hearings involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin on Tuesday in the Tel Aviv District Court.
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According to the rules established by the judges, the prime minister must testify three times a week, six hours a day.
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A number of Israeli politicians and ministers have previously repeatedly appealed to the judiciary with a request to postpone hearings in cases that have been dragging on since 2019, but the court rejected these requests, agreeing only to postpone the start of the prime minister’s testimony by a few hours. The requests were made in connection with the ongoing hostilities on several fronts and the need for the prime minister to comply with his busy work schedule in these conditions.
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Several criminal cases are being investigated against Netanyahu. Charges in three cases were filed back in 2019. The most serious bribery charges stem from the so-called “Case 4000,” which involved lobbying the interests of the country’s largest telecommunications group, Bezeq, in exchange for positive coverage of Netanyahu on the company’s popular online news site Walla.
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Charges of fraud and betrayal of public trust have been brought against Netanyahu in the 2000 and 1000 cases. “Case 1000” concerns suspicions that Netanyahu received expensive gifts, namely exclusive cigars and champagne, from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchin, the total value of which the investigation estimated at almost 300 thousand dollars. The investigation believes that in exchange for gifts, Netanyahu lobbied for the oligarch’s personal and business interests.
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Case 2000 involves the prime minister’s attempts to negotiate with the owner of one of the country’s largest media groups, Yediot Ahronot, for favorable coverage of the head of government in exchange for the adoption of a law that would limit the capabilities of its competitor, the free daily newspaper Israel Ha -Yom. Netanyahu has previously stated that the purpose of these charges is to overthrow him as head of government.
