Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had lived through "years of hell" as he concluded his testimony in his corruption trial, after 98 interrogation sessions that lasted about a year and a half.
Corruption allegations against Netanyahu have been raised in the media since 2016, before the Israeli government’s legal advisor at the time, Avichai Mandelblit, filed a formal indictment against him in November 2019.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three major corruption cases known as “Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000”, indictments for which were filed in late November 2019.
“Case 1000” concerns Netanyahu and members of his family receiving valuable gifts from businessmen in exchange for providing them with favors.
As for “File 2000”, it relates to his being accused of negotiating with Moses to obtain positive media coverage in exchange for providing government favors.
“Case 4000” relates to providing regulatory favors to businessman Shaul Elovitch, the former owner of the Walla website and the Bezeq telecommunications company, in exchange for positive media coverage for him and his family.
The official broadcasting authority stated that Netanyahu concluded his testimony on Wednesday in his corruption trial, after 98 sessions held over the course of about a year and a half.
The newspaper Yediot Aharonot quoted Netanyahu as saying before the judges: “I am ending a ten-year period of hell, and there is no other word to describe it,” considering that the case targets him politically and affects the public’s right to elect him.
He added: “When I try to lead the country in the face of challenges that are not insignificant, but perhaps the greatest of all, I see this despicable, false, and evil thing,” as he described it.
He also claimed that what happened during the case represented “catching people within a network in a blatant and distorted manner,” demanding that the judges “reach the truth and justice.”
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu’s testimonies concluded in the fortified courtroom of the Central Court in Tel Aviv, after 98 sessions, a large number of which were shortened or canceled.
The newspaper added that the court will move to the final pleadings stage, where judges will give the parties several months to submit their legal summaries before proceeding to write the judgment.
On June 16, the counter-questioning phase for Netanyahu ended after a year of deliberations, before four sessions were held as part of what is known as the “supplementary questioning”.
“Counter-examination” refers to the stage in which the opposing party directs questions to the witness or the accused after he has given his testimony, with the aim of testing his account and uncovering any possible contradictions or gaps in it.
As for the “supplementary interrogation,” it is a stage that allows the defense team to direct questions to him to clarify some of his previous answers and address points that may have harmed his legal position during the prosecution’s interrogation.
In addition to corruption charges, Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
