The wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Hungarian magazine that a deep state conspiracy in Israel was trying to overthrow the government, lashing out at what she said were forces using the judiciary as a cudgel against elected officials.

The comments from Sara Netanyahu to right-wing outlet Mandiner published Friday dovetailed with accusations leveled by the Israeli premier portraying investigations into his aides as politically biased, amid a wider tussle between his government and institutions acting as a check on government power.

The friendly interview took place as the Netanyahus made a state visit on April 3 to Hungary, one of a handful of countries that has promised not to uphold an International Criminal Court warrant seeking the Israeli leader’s arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

In the interview, which ran under the headline “Israel’s Iron Lady,” Netanyahu claimed a deep state was trying to overthrow an elected government by issuing threats and launching baseless investigations that she said had collapsed in succession.

She described the cases as an attempt to override the will of the people and maintain bureaucratic rule.

Netanyahu also accused the judiciary of being a political weapon and decried court proceedings against her husband, who is on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

She called it absurd that the prime minister had been summoned to court two hours after........

© The Times of Israel