Khaberni - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Monday before the Central Court in Tel Aviv for the 72nd time to respond to the corruption charges against him.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified on Monday, for the 72nd time, at the Central Court in Tel Aviv," said the Israel Hayom newspaper.
It added that Netanyahu entered the court after the judges had been seated, so it was not possible to photograph him inside the courtroom. The paper noted that the interrogation on Case 4000 with Netanyahu continued.
It stated that at the beginning of the session, Netanyahu requested to end the investigation at 2 PM due to a debate in the Knesset, and the judges accepted the request.
The session convened amidst ongoing division within Israel regarding Netanyahu's request for a pardon from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with supporters and opponents.
On November 30th, Netanyahu asked Herzog to grant him a pardon for the corruption charges he faces, but without admitting guilt or retiring from political life.
Since the start of his trial, Netanyahu has denied the charges, and Israeli law does not allow the president to grant a pardon unless there is an admission of guilt.
Corruption Charges
Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three known corruption cases, "1000, 2000 and 4000", and the former government legal advisor Avichai Mandelblit filed the indictment at the end of November 2019.
Case 1000 involves Netanyahu and his family receiving valuable gifts from wealthy businessmen in return for providing facilities and assistance to those individuals in various fields.
He is also accused in Case 2000 of negotiating with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the "Yedioth Ahronoth" Israeli newspaper, to secure positive media coverage.
The accusations in Case 4000 relate to providing facilities to the former owner of the "Walla" Israeli news site, Shaul Elovitch, who was also a senior official in the Bezeq telecommunications company, in exchange for positive media coverage.
The trial of Netanyahu in these cases began in 2020 and is still ongoing, which he denies, claiming they are a political campaign to overthrow him.
