Israel: Netanyahu appears before judges for the second time on corruption charges

Prime Minister Netanyahu will present his formal response to the charges in his corruption trial.

REUTERS / Abir Sultan / Pool

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Corruption, fraud and breach of trust.

Ridiculous accusations for Benyamin Netanyahu.

For the second time since the opening of the trial last May, the Israeli Prime Minister appears before his judges this Monday morning in Jerusalem.

The hearing which was to take place on January 13 had been postponed due to the confinement and it is taking place just a month and a half before the elections.

The fourth consultation in less than two years.

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem, 

Michel Paul

“ 

I ask you, don't come.

 Benyamin Netanyahu addresses members of his party.

"

 I know you just want to give me strength in the face of fabricated accusations 

," he adds.

A technical hearing this Monday morning.

But this is only the second time since

last May

that the Israeli prime minister has been required to be present to verbally confirm the defense provided by his lawyers. 

" 

All the attempts that Netanyahu is attributed to wanting after the elections to obtain a parliamentary majority to interrupt the trial, well it will seem, it seems to me, more and more difficult to raise your hand to interrupt in the middle the trial, therefore in this respect practically impossible 

”, underlines Denis Charbit, political scientist at the Open University of Israel.

For eight months, Raphy Gategno, made unemployed by the crisis, has demonstrated in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem.

And he's rather pessimistic.

“ 

Not much is going to come out of this trial.

State institutions are not going to try him for his crimes.

And there are much bigger crimes that he committed that has not been investigated.

The latest is its

management of the coronavirus

. ”

The

opponents

to Benjamin Netanyahu plan anyway to protest Monday morning against the district court in the eastern part of the city.

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• Israel

• Benjamin Netanyahu

• Justice

• Corruption