Netanyahu’s Seven-Year Trial Resumes Amid Expectations It Will Be Used for Election Campaigning

Al-Taj News – The trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been ongoing for nearly seven years, resumes Sunday. Around 20 hearings are expected to be held until the general elections scheduled for late October, amid attempts by the prosecution and Netanyahu’s lawyers to delay proceedings and buy time.

Estimates indicate that if Netanyahu wins the election and remains in office, he will seek to replace the government’s legal adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, in order to cancel the indictment against him. If he loses the election, he may seek to reach a deal with the prosecution under which he would leave political life in exchange for a reduced sentence, according to the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” on Sunday.

In July 2023, the judges had advised the prosecution to strike the bribery charge, the most serious charge in the indictment against Netanyahu, but the judges did not explain the reason for this recommendation, which the legal adviser formally rejected, based on the belief in the strength of the evidence supporting it, despite not all the evidence having been presented before Netanyahu’s testimony was heard.

So far, Netanyahu has called 25 witnesses on his behalf, including low-ranking police investigators, while Netanyahu’s mouthpieces have spoken of a conspiracy and the fabrication of cases against him. His lawyers are now seeking to call well-known witnesses, including former Legal Adviser Avichai Mandelblit, who filed the indictment against Netanyahu; former Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh; and former State Attorney Shai Nitzan.

Expectations indicate that Netanyahu will use his trial hearings over the next two months to turn the courtroom witness stand, to which ministers and Netanyahu associates will take the stand, into a platform for election campaigning.