Israeli PM Netanyahu set to testify in corruption trial

Jerusalem: The first testimony of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his trial for charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust is scheduled for Tuesday.

His testimony will begin in an underground room of the Tel Aviv District Court after being relocated from Jerusalem for security reasons. He will subsequently testify three times every week for at least the next two weeks, according to local media.

The trial marks the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting local media.

The court partially accepted Netanyahu's legal team's request on November 24 for a 15-day postponement for the start of his testimony but rejected the latest call for postponement by 12 ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet.

Netanyahu's domestic trial is further complicated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued in November against him and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for "crimes against humanity and war crimes" between at least October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024.

The trial, which began in early 2020, involves three separate cases in which Netanyahu is accused of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has denied any wrongdoing, calling the trial a politically-motivated "witch hunt."

After more than a two-month pause due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, Netanyahu's trial resumed in early December 2023.

If convicted, Netanyahu is expected to face severe penalties, including imprisonment, which would make him the first incumbent Israeli prime minister sentenced for criminal offences.

With inputs from IANS