Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumes

The judicial process restarts after two months of interruption. The corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed on Monday, December 4, in Jerusalem, approximately two months after its suspension, due to the bloody Hamas attack on October 7. The head of government is suspected of having received bribes from personalities with a total value of around 700,000 shekels (or a little more than 173,000 euros).

These gifts took the form of cigars, bottles of champagne and jewelry distributed between 2007 and 2016. Benjamin Netanyahu is suspected of having in return promoted a tax provision that could have brought millions of dollars to the famous Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. However, the Israeli Finance Ministry vetoed it.

For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu claims to have only accepted gifts from friends, without having requested them, and considers himself the victim of a witch hunt. He will not be called to the stand immediately, but could appear to testify in a few months, according to the Israeli press. His trial, which opened in 2020, constitutes a first in Israel for a serving Prime Minister.