Latest news with #CorruptionCharges
Al Arabiya
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israel opposition chief asks Trump not to ‘interfere' in Netanyahu trial
Israel's opposition leader on Thursday criticized US President Donald Trump for saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial should be cancelled, warning him against interfering in internal affairs. Trump on Wednesday described the case against Netanyahu as a 'witch hunt,' echoing the Israeli premier's dismissal of the corruption charges which he has flatly rejected. In a message on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the Netanyahu trial 'should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero,' after the end of a 12-day war with Iran. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said in an interview with news website Ynet: 'We are thankful to President Trump, but... the president should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country.' Lapid, of the center-right Yesh Atid party, backed a statement by one of Netanyahu's coalition allies, Simcha Rothman of the far-right Religious Zionism party, who called for Trump to stay out of the court case. 'It is not the role of the president of the United States to interfere in legal proceedings in the State of Israel,' said Rothman, who chairs the Israeli parliament's judicial affairs committee. Rothman, a vocal critic of what he argues is judicial overreach, however said that 'the management of Netanyahu's cases is transforming the image of the State of Israel from a regional and global power into a banana republic.' National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of another far-right party in Netanyahu's coalition, branded the trial as politically motivated. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it was 'distorted, unreasonable, contrary to the basic sense of justice' to continue Netanyahu's trial at war, backing Trump's call to drop the charges against the Israeli leader. Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister. During his current term since late 2022, his government has proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts. In the trial that has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. In a first case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. Two other cases allege that Netanyahu attempted to negotiate more favorable coverage in two Israeli media outlets. Netanyahu has requested multiple postponements in the proceedings, most recently citing the ongoing war in Gaza since April 2023, later in Lebanon and earlier this month in Iran.
News24
13 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
Trump demands Israel pardons ‘great hero' Netanyahu, or abandons corruption case against him
Donald Trump demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be pardoned or his trial abandoned. Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu. Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favours. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Israel to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or cancel his trial on corruption charges. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which Netanyahu denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty. 'Bibi Netanyahu's trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State (of Israel),' Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he had learned that Netanyahu was due to appear in court on Monday. Israeli media have reported that cross-examination of Netanyahu began on 3 June in a Tel Aviv court and was expected to take about a year to complete. READ | Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu but has been quoted by Israeli media as saying that a pardon is 'not currently on the table'. He also said that 'no such request had been made', according to the reports. Trump extolled Netanyahu and said in his post: 'It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.' That appeared to be a reference to US involvement and support for Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear programme. READ | US slaps sanctions on ICC judges in 'clear attempt to undermine' actions against Netanyahu, Israel Trump announced a ceasefire on Monday. It was unclear if Trump meant the US could do anything to aid Netanyahu in his legal Republican president described the case against the Israeli leader as a 'witch hunt', a term Trump has frequently applied to US attempts to prosecute him. The warm words contrasted with the rare rebuke he issued on Tuesday over Israel's post-ceasefire strikes on Iran. Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before. The biggest load that we've seen. I'm not happy with Israel. Donald Trump Iran and Israel, he added, had been fighting 'so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'. AFP reported that Netanyahu's trial has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, with the Israeli leader requesting postponements due to the war in Gaza and later conflict in Lebanon. In a first case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours. Two other cases allege that Netanyahu attempted to negotiate more favourable coverage in two Israeli media outlets. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump calls for Netanyahu corruption trial to be scrapped claiming it's a ‘witch-hunt'
Donald Trump vowed to 'save' Benjamin Netanyahu as he hit out at the Israeli prime minister's ' witch-hunt ' corruption trial. Trump claimed Israel's prime minister was a 'great hero' and 'warrior' who faced politically motivated charges and called for the trial to be cancelled. The president's intervention comes as Netanyahu's cross-examination, which began on 4 June, is set to resume on Monday. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and denies all of them. 'Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me. He deserves much better than this, and so does the State of Israel,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Bibi Netanyahu's trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State. 'It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.' Netanyahu was indicted in 2019. He pleaded not guilty after the trial, involving three criminal cases, began in 2020. In the first case, the Israeli PM is alleged to have committed fraud and breach of trust over claims he and his wife Sara received expensive gifts illicitly from a Hollywood media mogul, according to The Times of Israel. In the second, he is accused of fraud and breach trust over allegedly trying to persuade a newspaper publisher to give him positive coverage in exchange for legislation weakening the newspaper's key rival. In the third case Netanyahu is alleged to have passed legislation which financially benefited a telecommunications giant shareholder in return for more favourable media coverage. Trump frequently used the term 'witch-hunt' to describe his own legal battles prior to his re-election in November 2024. Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu but has been quoted by Israeli media saying that is 'not currently on the table.' It was unclear if Trump meant the US could do anything to aid Netanyahu, but it marked a change of tone from Tuesday when he claimed Israel and Iran 'don't know what the f*** they're doing.' Seven US stealth bombers dropped 14 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities early on Sunday morning after Israel began striking Iranian targets on 13 June. Trump claimed Iran was days away from developing a nuclear weapon, and later announced a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Israel and Iran.
