Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday charged that his ongoing corruption trial is “political,” in an English-language video released as he campaigns for President Isaac Herzog to dismiss the criminal indictments against him.

In the clip, which he published on his personal social media accounts, Netanyahu stated he was standing trial for “receiving favorable coverage from a second-rate internet site,” referring to so-called Case 4000, in which he is accused of authorizing regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Shaul Elovitch by hundreds of millions of shekels.

In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

Netanyahu noted that the judges overseeing the trial recommended in 2023 that prosecutors drop the bribery charge, which they declined. The premier is also charged with fraud and breach of trust in the case, one of three for which he is standing trial.

“It’s a political trial. They [the prosecutors] are not interested in justice; they are interested in getting me out of office,” he claimed.

The prime minister then turned to Case 1000, which he dismissed as “absurd.” Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust in the case for accepting luxury........

© The Times of Israel