Current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in addition to his close political circle, has been charged with corruption, bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli PM to face trial while still in office. As the trial continues, Netanyahu must relinquish his government titles apart from prime minister, which is exempt from this law. However, he has refused to resign despite pressure from the public and strongly denies all accusations. Israel has already had to witness four general elections in just two years. As Netanyahu’s verdict continues to be delayed, Israel’s stability remains threatened. 

Trial Background 

In December 2016, the Israeli Police launched an official investigation after media allegations of Netanyahu accepting “significant gifts or ‘favours’ from businessmen.” At the time Netanyahu had been implicated in various scandals, yet none had led to formal charges post-investigation. In 2013, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, were accused of wasting $127,000 of public funds on a “customized private bedroom on a single flight to the UK” in order to attend Margaret Thatcher’s funeral. His administration, however, claimed that Netanyahu was “unaware of the cost,” and due to insufficient evidence, the case was dropped. Seemingly, Netanyahu stated that “all these scandals have turned out to be baseless and so will the allegations being published in the media now.” 

However, following a yearlong investigation, the Israel Police recommended that Netanyahu be charged with corruption, bribery, and breach of trust. In response, Netanyahu accused Israel’s police chief of being “delusional and mendacious,” which his opponents claim was a ploy to discredit the investigation and victimize himself to maintain public support. Barak Medina, a professor of constitutional law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, equated these accusations to former President Trump’s relentless criticisms of the FBI and US Department of Justice during the investigations of Russia’s supposed tampering with the 2016 US presidential elections. Medina warned that Netanyahu’s case could further disrupt political stability. Netanyahu was then indicted in November of 2019, and the trial began in May of 2020. 

He was officially indicted under 3 cases: Case 1000, 2000, and 4000. 

Case 1000

Under Case 1000, Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust over the acceptance of valuable gifts from Arnon Milchan, an Israeli businessman and film producer, and James Packer, an Australian businessman, and investor. The indictment accuses Netanyahu, under his role as the Minister of Communications, of accepting gifts worth nearly 700,000 NIS (200,000 USD) from 2007 to 2016, which most prominently featured a “supply-line” of cigars and champagne, in addition to jewelry for his wife. While Netanyahu has not denied receiving gifts from Milchan and Packer, prosecutors believe that he used his power in public office to aid Milchan with advancing his business interests in return for gifts. Prosecutors believe that Netanyahu pressured the finance ministry to “double the duration of a tax exemption for expatriate Israelis” such as Milchan, in addition to facilitating a merger for a television channel (Channel 10 television) that was partly owned by Milchan but had been performing poorly in recent years. Packer has not been accused of receiving aid from Netanyahu for his gifts, and neither Milchan nor Packer are indicted in this case. 

Case 2000

Under Case 2000, Netanyahu has been accused of striking a deal with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yediot Aharonot, one of Israel’s most popular newspapers. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust while Mozes has been charged with attempted bribery. The charges state that Netanyahu was slated to receive “supportive coverage” from Yediot Aharonot (which has faced criticism in the past for often painting Netanyahu in a negative light), in exchange for limiting the strength of the Israel Hayom, a rival newspaper. Mozes, alongside Netanyahu, has denied all charges. The indictment states that Netanyahu’s actions “conveyed a message according to which offers of bribery are a means that can be used in order to further the mutual interests of senior public officials and business people and that there is nothing wrong with bribery.” In response to this, Netanyahu claims that he negotiated with Mozes and Yediot Aharonot out of fear that if he did not cooperate, they would smear his image and that of his children “publicly to the point that they might commit suicide.” 

Case 4000

Under Case 4000, Netanyahu has been charged with granting business favors worth around 1.8 Billion NIL (500 Million USD) to Shaul Elovitch, chairman of the Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq Telecom Israel. In return for favors such as ensuring a smooth merger between Elovitch’s telecom company and his satellite TV provider, Yes, Netanyahu wanted positive coverage of himself and his administration on the company’s website, Walla. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, and bribery while Elovitch and his wife, Iris Elovitch, have been charged with bribery and obstruction of justice. Both parties deny any involvement or wrongdoing in this case. 

Ongoing Trial 

At this moment Netanyahu is not legally obligated to step down from his role as prime minister. According to Israeli law, prime ministers are allowed to remain in office until convicted, unlike other government officials. However, Netanyahu still faces immense criticism from the public as he says he will only “leave office by ballot box.” Yet, his predecessor and the former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert (who was also accused of corruption in 2008), stepped down after pressure from Netanyahu himself who claimed that Olmert would be “too distracted to do his job properly.” Failing to follow his own advice has sparked backlash from the public and Olmert himself. However, the public outcry for him to step down has not swayed him, and Netanyahu continues to hold strong that the accusations against him are baseless.

Prior to the official start of his trial, Netanyahu filed for immunity from the Jerusalem District Court in January 2020. The Knesset House Committee (the national legislature of Israel) voted against the granting of immunity, and Netanyahu withdrew his request. Subsequently, charges against him were officially filed in court. In March 2020, Netanyahu filed for a motion to delay the trial for 45 days, but the court overturned his request and set the trial to begin on the original date of 17 March 2020. However, the ongoing pandemic has caused numerous delays in the proceedings in what many believe will be a months-long trial. 

In the latest trial hearing on 8 February 2021, Netanyahu is said to have walked out during the proceeding while only having spoken twice “to confirm his attorneys’ response to the charges and then, after about 20 minutes, to say ‘thank you very much’ to the courtroom before departing with his motorcade.” During this hearing, Netanyahu formally pleaded not guilty. This hearing comes after a month-long COVID-19 lockdown in Israel that some claim was a strategic ploy to further delay the trial. Netanyahu’s attorney, Amir Hadad, further attempted to delay the trial by claiming it was a “violation of basic law,” but judges dismissed his argument. The “evidence stage” of the hearings is said to be delayed till after the 23 March national elections. Netanyahu claims that it would be a “crude intervention in the elections” if the evidentiary phase commences prior to his re-election.  
If convicted, Netanyahu could face several years in prison, but an official verdict is assumed to be months, if not years away. In a country with no formal constitution, Netanyahu has had trouble gaining a parliamentary majority as his supporters and opposers have remained relatively equal over the years, “leading to election after election to break the deadlock.” This trial, however, may be the tipping point that could either undermine Netanyahu’s political career or return him to power.