Netanyahu’s Graft Trial Resumes amid Israeli Coronavirus Anger
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Sunday, as the long-serving Israeli prime minister faces mounting discontent over his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals in which he is alleged to have received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and exchanged regulatory favors with media moguls for more agreeable coverage of himself and his family, AP reported.
Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, painting the accusations as a media-orchestrated witch-hunt pursued by a biased law enforcement system.
The trial opened in May. Just before appearing in front of the judges, Netanyahu took to a podium inside the courthouse and flanked by his party members bashed the regime’s legal institutions in an angry tirade.
Netanyahu was not expected to appear at Sunday’s hearing, which is taking place at a Jerusalem al-Quds court and is mostly a procedural deliberation.
The trial resumes as Netanyahu faces widespread anger over his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Netanyahu has been criticized for a baffling, halting response to the new wave, which has seen daily cases rise to nearly 2,000. His government has been slammed for its handling of the economic fallout of the crisis.
