Netanyahu Faces Court in Long-Delayed Corruption Case

tel aviv - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before the court in a long-pending case of corruption allegations. Netanyahu is accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust related to expensive gifts and deals with powerful media figures.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 75, of the Likud party, faced the court on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The court has ordered him to appear three times a week despite his attempts to avoid it.

Outside the court, a few dozen protesters showed support for the premier while others demanded his intervention to release hostages held by Hamas for over a year in Gaza.

Netanyahu is facing three separate cases in court. One involves alleged favors granted to regulators benefiting a telecom company, Bezeq, by around 1.8 billion shekels (478 million euros) in exchange for positive coverage on a news website under the same leadership.

Another case revolves around receiving gifts from businessmen, including champagne and cigars worth 700,000 shekels, allegedly in exchange for defending their business interests. Netanyahu is also accused of striking a deal with a newspaper owner for favorable coverage in return for undermining a rival publication.

Netanyahu denies the accusations, claiming they are politically motivated. In a statement, he said, "The real threat to democracy in Israel is not the representatives elected by the people, but individuals within law enforcement agencies who refuse to accept the voters' choice and attempt a coup with politically-motivated investigations that are unacceptable in any democracy." Netanyahu expressed waiting for eight years to present his side of the story.