Israel's PM Netanyahu arrives in court to testify in corruption trial
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases.
FILE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a wreath-laying ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day for the six million Jews killed in World War II, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on 6 May 2024. Picture: AFP
TEL AVIV - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to testify for the first time in his corruption case.
Netanyahu, who has repeatedly sought to delay his appearance in court, is the first sitting prime minister of Israel to face a criminal trial.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases.
Several people, including anti-Netanyahu protesters and his supporters, gathered outside the court, while some right-wing lawmakers attended the session, which was held in an underground chamber for security reasons.
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An AFP journalist outside the court reported that the prime minister's supporters chanted "Netanyahu, the people support you," while protesters who have been rallying against him for months chanted "Bibi to prison".
The last time he physically appeared in court was in June 2023, before the war in began with Israel's October 7, 2023 attack.
"I will speak in court. I am not running away," Netanyahu said at a press conference Monday evening.