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(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
(05.03.2023)
The trial and the coup are now simultaneously underway, but while the first is lumbering along, the second is galloping forward. The hearings in the Jerusalem District Court will resume only after Passover. Until the judges return from their hiatus, the wings of the High Court of Justice might be clipped, the Judicial Appointments Committee might be under full control of the politicians, or Israel might be in the throes of a historic constitutional crisis.
(March 27, 2023 8:13 pm)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would temporarily freeze his government’s controversial plans to enfeeble the judicial system, following a night of mass demonstrations across the country and an unprecedented general strike.
Netanyahu said that he ordered „the timeout“ on the controversial legislation until after the Knesset recess in order „to give a real opportunity for real dialogue.“
(March 27, 2023 15:45)
The court rejected the petition by the Defenders of Israeli Democracy on all grounds, saying that judicial intervention was a last resort after all other avenues had been exhausted.
The petition was viewed as unacceptable in its framing, and the petitioners were ordered to pay NIS 5,000 for expenses to the state treasury.
(23.03.2023)
“We are all worried about Israel’s fate,” Histadrut chief Arnon Bar-David said during a press conference alongside business leaders and public officials. “Together we say, enough!”
“We have lost our way — this is not about left or right,” he continued. “We can no longer polarize the nation.”
The announcement came ahead of an expected statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is freezing the legislation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition approved legislation that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule over his corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest surrounding his involvement in the legal changes.
By a 61-to-47 final vote, the Knesset approved the bill that states that only the prime minister himself or the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the leader unfit. The cabinet vote would then need to be ratified by a super majority in the parliament.
– Police use water cannon against Tel Aviv protesters
– At least 87 protesters arrested across Israel
– Knesset passes law preventing AG from declaring Netanyahu unfit for office
Some say you’ve unleashed this revolution to evade your trial. That makes no sense. You could drag it on for years or subvert it with less drastic legislative initiatives.
Others posit that you are intimidated by the extremists — those you have empowered politically, and the toxic commentators on TV, radio and social media, including some very close to home.
I hear that some people who know you well think you have convinced yourself that you are truly King Bibi, a great, historic national figure, wiser and more capable than all.
Recent moves by the Israeli government to undermine the power of the courts could undermine investment and spark an exodus of educated Israelis, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron warned on Wednesday. He further declared that it was “imperative” to maintain the independence of the judiciary.
(13.03.2023)
The third amendment approved by the Knesset, the override clause, allows its members to enact laws previously overruled by the court. This proposed amendment to the Basic Law on the Judiciary would also make any law passed by a slim majority (61 out of 120 lawmakers) immune to judicial review by the court.
Ever since the coup against our system of government – and the sweeping opposition to it – began, President Isaac Herzog has been doing damage to Israel’s democracy. Even if his intentions are good, at this point we have to call a spade a spade and urge him to stop.
The trial and the coup are now simultaneously underway, but while the first is lumbering along, the second is galloping forward. The hearings in the Jerusalem District Court will resume only after Passover. Until the judges return from their hiatus, the wings of the High Court of Justice might be clipped, the Judicial Appointments Committee might be under full control of the politicians, or Israel might be in the throes of a historic constitutional crisis.
What’s happening to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? The extreme mood swings reflected in both his statements and body language attest to pressure, psychological distress and loss of his senses. He quickly slips into the mindset of paranoid tyrants who live in a bubble, divorced from reality.
The bill, submitted by coalition chairman Ofir Katz, states that only the cabinet can declare a prime minister unfit or incapacitated by a two-thirds majority, and that in some cases, such a declaration would require approval by a majority of 90 lawmakers. Moreover, a declaration of incapacitation would apply to incompetence for health reasons only.
The bill is being advanced in response to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel’s petition to the High Court asking to declare Netanyahu unfit for office over a conflict of interest due to the ongoing criminal proceedings against him.
(10 February 2023)
The High Court of Justice on Friday gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one month to respond to a petition to declare him unfit for office and force him to take a leave of absence.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned the court on Thursday, arguing that Netanyahu is in violation of a conflict of interest arrangement that bars him from involvement in matters that could impact his ongoing trial on graft charges.
(Jan 22, 2023)
In 2021, the High Court of Justice ruled that a conflict of interest arrangement formulated under then former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit was binding for Netanyahu.
The arrangement prohibits Netanyahu from being involved in the nomination of judges or of the police commissioner and from being involved in legislation that has an impact on the criminal proceedings against him.
Why a former head of Mossad and former chief of the Shin Bet, both of whom were appointed by Netanyahu, now find themselves fighting to stop the prime minister from destroying Israel’s legal system
“All over the world liberal democracy is under siege by right-wing autocrats and fanatical extremists who are in a coordinated global attack on freedom,” says Raskin, 60, who was a constitutional law professor prior to serving in Congress.
„Fortunately, the forces of strong democracy, judicial independence, human rights and women’s equality, religious pluralism and the rule of law are on the march too – from the streets of Jerusalem to the streets of Tehran to the heroic people of Ukraine battling fascist invasion to all their powerful democratic allies in the United States and Europe,“ he continues, putting the Israeli government in some previously unimaginable company.
The anti-occupation bloc was also present, chanting “no apartheid government… from Sheikh Jarrah to Jenin, Palestine will be free.” Members of the group carried Palestinian and LGBTQ pride flags.
„Democracy is not built on the bodies of children. Democracy is not built on house demolitions and evictions,“ they shouted. Later in the evening, a man in the crowd reportedly attacked the bloc’s protesters and was detained by the police.
„My friends and I, many of whom are here around the table, have said this countless times, and millions of citizens who voted for the right-wing camp knew about the intention to reform the judicial system comprehensively,“ the prime minister added. „More than that, they demanded it from us. Anyone who was at our election rallies, in the city centers, in the neighborhoods, we heard the voice rising from the crowd.“
Hayut said the clause “will deprive the court of the option to override laws that disproportionately violate human rights, including the right to life, property, freedom of movement, as well as the basic right of human dignity and its derivatives – the right to equality, freedom of speech and more.”
The planned override clause authorizes the Knesset, with the support of the government, to make laws without obstruction that would hurt these rights. That’s why anyone who thinks that this override clause overrides the court is mistaken. It’s actually an override of human rights in every aspect of Israeli society.”
A few have issued veiled warnings. None has imposed the sort of sanctions or boycotts levelled in the past on political extremists in other countries.
The coalition’s objectionable plans raise a broader, uncomfortable question for the US and Europe reaching beyond the too-familiar abuses and impunity of military occupation. In short, can Israel still be considered a reliable, law-abiding ally that shares a set of common values and standards with the western democracies? Maybe this is why governments are keeping stumm.
More than 80,000 Israeli protesters have rallied in Tel Aviv against plans by the new right-wing coalition government to overhaul the judiciary.
The reforms would make it easier for parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings, among other things.
The far-eight government’s planned judicial reform will “crush” the Israeli judicial system, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut warned at the annual convention of The Israeli Association of Public Law on Thursday evening. “Israel will soon mark 75 years of independence, the 75th year will be remembered as the year in which Israel’s democracy suffered a fatal blow,” said Hayut. “This is an unbridled attack on the judicial system, as if it were an enemy that must be attacked and subdued.”
Une marche contre le gouvernement de Benjamin Netanyahu a rassemblé samedi soir plusieurs milliers de manifestants à Tel-Aviv. Ces derniers dénoncent la présence d'“extrémistes“ et le danger qu’ils représentent selon eux pour la démocratie.
At the Standing Together rally, Ayman Odeh, chairman of the left-wing Hadash party, said: „With this historic crisis there is also a huge and historic opportunity… The fascists‘ only chance is to separate us, and we won’t let them.“
After his speech, Odeh said that he was attacked by a protester. „After my speech tonight against the fascism I was verbally assaulted by a group of fscist protesters, one of them physically attacked me and was immediately pushed away by protesters around me,“ he said on Twitter.
Roni Alsheich – who led police investigation into former premier – suggests AG seek plea bargain as ‘our democracy is not yet ready to prosecute a sitting PM’
According to Itamar Ben-Gvir, „the correction to the law that we brought is a blessing for democracy. Only in police states does the police commissioner work on his own.“ He also accused the opposition of never having been democratic. „You are dark people, non-liberals who do not correspond with the democratic system of government,“ he added.
Mr. Netanyahu’s government, however, is a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security and even the idea of a Jewish homeland. For one, the government’s posture could make it militarily and politically impossible for a two-state solution to ever emerge. Rather than accept this outcome, the Biden administration should do everything it can to express its support for a society governed by equal rights and the rule of law in Israel, as it does in countries all over the world. That would be an act of friendship, consistent with the deep bond between the two nations.
„However, harming the court’s status, as well as harming the rights of minorities based on religion, race, gender or sexual orientation, will constitute a real existential threat to the glorious high-tech industry that has been built in Israel with great effort over the past three decades.“
The authors later noted the large amounts of money coming to the industry from the U.S. and Europe: „These investors are of course looking for financial returns on their investment, but they also share significant fundamental values with the countries and industries in which they invest.
Verhandelt wird nun, ob die Knesset künftig die Möglichkeit erhält, sich über solche Entscheidungen in einer erneuten Abstimmung hinwegsetzen zu können. Dann könnte das Parlament Gesetze beschließen, die den grundlegenden Gesetzen Israels widersprechen.
Israel’s right-wing majority considers the Supreme Court’s authority “overreaching” – and the expected incoming coalition plans to pass legislation known as the “override clause” giving parliament the power to reverse rulings from the high court.
Members of the likely upcoming coalition government under Benjamin Netanyahu are said to be in favor of a proposal that would enable a 61-Knesset-member majority to overrule the Supreme Court and cancel its decisions. Netanyahu, who was initially reluctant to include the controversial override clause in coalition negotiations, agreed to do so following pressure from his allies in the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Religious Zionist parties.
Israel hat gewählt – zum fünften Mal binnen dreieinhalb Jahren. Erste Prognosen sehen das Bündnis von Oppositionsführer und Ex-Premierminister Netanyahu knapp vorn. Er will eine nationalkonservative Koalition schmieden.
In Israel wird eine neue Knesset gewählt. Noch bevor die Wahlurnen ausgezählt sind, steht ein Gewinner bereits fest: Benjamin „Bibi“ Netanjahu.
Gewinner zunächst einmal deshalb, weil er schlicht noch da ist. Alle Skandale, alle Prozesse, bei denen er sich vor Gericht verantworten muss und auch nicht seine Ablösung als Ministerpräsident vor einem Jahr haben zu seinem politischen Ende geführt.
In his desperation to vacuum up every last vote on the right, to establish a government pliant enough to interfere with, if not quash, his criminal trial, Netanyahu engineered a political path to bring the far right in from the cold. He has diligently mentored their fortunes, even hosting Ben-Gvir at his home in Caesarea.
The reform that Bezalel Smotrich is proposing validates public corruption on a grand scale. It is intended as a come-on for Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporters on the eve of the election, people who understand well that in contrast to the feigned denial of Smotrich, annulling the offense will necessarily lead to the cancelation of the bulk of the indictment against Netanyahu. This is another reminder of what is at stake in the forthcoming election.
(26.09.2022)
in 2018, Netanyahu he okayed Germany’s sale of submarines to Egypt, but refused to tell why – even to the then-defense chief Ya’alon. The reason behind his concealment might be the biggest question yet to be answered by the State Commission of Inquiry
Although there is a certain logic in putting together all the corruption charges against Netanyahu, it is now clear that the decision of former Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit to do so has contributed to slowing down the process. Add to that the support by the High Court of Justice that no legal obstacle prevents Netanyahu from serving as prime minister despite his trial – the result is complete chaos.
The prosecutor in the “lavish gifts” corruption trial of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the court Tuesday that although the prosecution doesn’t know the whereabouts of James Packer, an Australian businessman who gave Netanyahu gifts, it has no intention of forgoing the testimony of the state’s key witness.
n response to a question from the head of the panel of judges that is hearing the case in Jerusalem, Alon Gildin said: “The prosecution hasn’t given up on anyone.”
(13.02.2019)
On a summer evening about a decade ago, an unusual group entered the spacious Israeli beach house home of Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. His guest at his home in Beit Yanai, to which he had made a special trip from his home in Los Angeles especially for the meeting, was Meir Dagan, the director at the time of Israel’s Mossad espionage agency.
Also in attendance was a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin and the oligarch’s young daughter. They were joined by several others as well.
(…)
While he was head of the Mossad, Dagan viewed the development of close ties with Russia, with Putin and with his close circle of associates as a strategic goal, and he accompanied the Israeli prime ministers under whom he served — Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert and Netanyahu — in their meetings with the president of Russia.
Hadas Klein, personal assistant to Arnon Milchan, testified on Monday that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested and received 3,000 shekels (about $900) in cash from tycoon Arnon Milchan, and that she bought his wife Sara a gift for 15,000 shekels with Milchan’s funds, also in cash. These details do not appear in the indictment, and it is the first time a claim has been presented that Netanyahu received cash from Milchan.
(April 6, 2016)
In a far-reaching interview aired Monday with Israel’s Channel 2 TV’s flagship investigative program „Uvda,“ Milchan detailed a series of clandestine affairs in which he was involved and particularly how he helped purchase technologies Israel allegedly needed to operate nuclear bombs.
„I did it for my country and I’m proud of it,“ said Milchan, who ran a successful fertilizer company in Israel before making it big in Hollywood.
(06.09.2022)
In a 2013 interview with the Hebrew media, Milchan acknowledged that he had worked for the Israel Bureau of Scientific Relations, which worked to secure scientific and technical know-how for secret defense programs.
That interview led US authorities to grant him merely a one-year visa extension instead of the 10-year visas he had previously received. Milchan sought Netanyahu’s help in obtaining a new 10-year visa, and the former prime minister arranged for the Hollywood mogul to speak directly to then-US secretary of state John Kerry on the issue.
“I am sure that under your leadership the deep friendship between Britain and Israel will be further strengthened in all fields,” tweets Netanyahu.
The former prime minister also adds his thanks to outgoing PM Boris Johnson “for his valued contributions to the excellent relations between our two countries.”
Klein was the personal assistant to billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer. She is testifying at the trial in Case 1000 – the lavish gifts affair – in which Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust during the time he served as prime minister. In her testimony, Klein told how Milchan and Packer sent expensive cigars and champagne to Netanyahu and his wife Sara for years through her, at the Netanyahus’ request. Her cross-examination by Amit Hadas, Netanyahu’s lawyer, will continue on September 6, after the end of the courts summer recess.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is known for his fervent supporters, many of whom refer to him as “King Bibi,” but a prominent Likud activist took things even further on Sunday evening at a party event when she attempted to drape a golden medallion featuring the former prime minister’s visage around lawmaker Israel Katz’s neck.
In a video clip widely circulated online, Heidi Mozes could be heard declaring that the necklace was “a declaration of allegiance to our party,” adding “we are proud to be in this party that we have excellent elected officials and a wonderful soon to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
It seems that there is no better, no more characteristic demonstration of the huge gap between the aggressively marketed image and what really occupied Netanyahu in his years at the helm. He is obviously not the only politician who likes the proximity of tycoons. Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert also liked being close to rich people and the pampering they could provide.
(04.05.2022)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky consulted in recent weeks with a pair of public relations advisers to Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to galvanize military support for his country as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion, according to a report Tuesday.
Walla news said Zelensky received advice from Srulik Einhorn, who was a senior adviser for Netanyahu’s Likud party during the last election. He also reportedly consulted with Jonatan Urich, a longtime Netanyahu aide who continues to serve as the former prime minister’s spokesman.
Hadas Klein told Jerusalem District Court that Packer „wanted to donate $3 million to the Peres Center for Peace and had promised Shimon Peres he would do it.” The center was founded by the former president and prime minister in 1996, in order to further peace and cooperation between Arabs and Jews and Israelis and Palestinians.
Klein is testifying in Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is accused of improperly receiving expensive gifts in exchange for favors. Both Packer and Milchan are at the center of the affair.
„One Friday, I received a call from Arnon and he said to me, ‚Speak to Yossi Cohen and tell him that Sara likes him,'“ Klein continued. „‚Tell Yossi what Sara says about him.‘ Arnon told him that he spoke with the Netanyahus. And then Arnon met with [then-Mossad chief] Tamir Pardo on Friday afternoon. He told Pardo that he spoke to the Netanyahus and they both approved this appointment, and Tamir told Milchan: ‘You did something bad for the State of Israel.’”
For some unclear reason, former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit decided to indict Netanyahu in this case only for fraud and breach of trust, and not bribery, and the gifts for Sara Netanyahu were not included in the indictment, because the Prime Minister’s wife is not a civil servant, even though – according to Klein – Bibi was perfectly aware of their existence, as he had told her that all of Sarah requests should be complied with.
Israel-American billionaire Arnon Milchan lambasted Israeli right-wing attacks on his aide Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu who filed a police complaint on Thursday against a journalist for harassment.
Klein has this week been giving testimony in Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust for allegedly accepting luxury gifts from Milchan and Packer worth NIS 691,776 ($200,000).
It capped a week that symbolized everything that was bad about it during the little over a year it was in power: a fractured coalition, too many of whose heads were convinced they were destined to be prime minister and waged an endless campaign, mainly against one another; a coalition with too few responsible adults and too many opportunists. Above all, however, it was a coalition faced with an opposition the likes of which we have never seen: violent, vulgar, brutal, cynical, without a drop of empathy for human suffering, no matter where; that spits on the general public, including its own voters. An opposition without any red lines but with a personality cult; that is captive to a single person who seeks to escape his trial and who along the way turns every stone and scorches every bit of earth in order to completely destroy the young experiment known as Israeli democracy.
In both style and content, Lapid’s and Bennett’s speeches distilled what is best about the government of change and served as a reminder, by way of contrast, of everything Israel left behind when Benjamin Netanyahu lost power and everything that threatens it should he regain it – a return to a politics and a public discourse of incitement, division, mudslinging, humiliation, intimidation, lies and manipulation; a return to assaults on the justice system, the police, the media and the opposition; a return to the persecution of human rights organizations and incitement against Arab citizens and their representatives in the Knesset.
Israels Regierung will das Parlament auflösen, Neuwahlen könnten im Oktober stattfinden – es wäre die fünfte Wahl binnen drei Jahren. Laut Umfragen kann sich Ex-Premier Netanyahu Hoffnung auf Wiederwahl machen.
(Sep. 8, 2019)
“She’s completely crazy,” said Sheldon Adelson, publisher of the Israel Hayom daily. “She was compulsive about photos of herself and how she looked. She said ‘I’m the first lady, I’m a psychologist and I teach children about psychology.’ … She would tell my wife that if Iran attacked it would be her fault … because we didn’t publish good pictures of her,” said Adelson, a leading donor to Israeli and Jewish causes as well as to the Republican Party.
(May 2, 2022)
Part of what Filbert was trying to do on Monday was explain statements he has made in court regarding the Bezeq-Walla Affair that were helpful to Netanyahu, despite his being a prosecution witness.
In Filber’s narrative, he has only testified for the prosecution about meetings and phone calls he had with Netanyahu that the prosecution wants to highlight for Case 4000.
(March 20, 2022)
In an interview airing Sunday on „Life, Liberty & Levin“, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against the U.S. potentially empowering the terrorist-supporting regime in Tehran by going ahead with approving a new nuclear deal.
Netanyahu told host Mark Levin that when the regime currently led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi is armed with nuclear weapons, they can threaten anyone they want while also having the boosted defense capabilities that nukes provide:
Request comes after information provided by Arnon Milchan’s personal assistant regarding expansive jewelry and clothes allegedly given to former PM at his wife’s behest
Asked about the immediate aftermath of Silman’s resignation, he said that „the first order of business was to stabilize the faction. I’ve spoken with the party heads and this government is moving forward. The alternative is to return to the dark days of more election campaigns. Instead of fighting terrorism, fighting each other.“
Bennett further rejected the assertion that the current 60-60 situation in the Knesset has left his government paralyzed, saying that political paralysis „is measured in actions. Controversial laws are hard to pass, but we have no issue with regular legislation.“
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
(April 6, 2022)
Netanyahu has been relatively quiet on Ukraine, which would put him at odds with the current administration and key parts of the U.S. Republican Party. In the past he has seen Putin as a partner in fighting Iranian influence in Syria and in the effort to keep Iran from supplying Hezbollah and Hamas with cash and weapons. That is similar to Bennett’s policy, though it is hard to imagine Bibi trying to mediate the conflict or allowing his foreign minister to call Putin a war criminal, as Lapid is now doing.
(08.04.2022)
On Wednesday, Idit Silman, a right-wing member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, announced her defection from Bennett’s political party, Yamina, robbing the government of its majority.
The coalition whip is said to have resigned after reports of middle-of-the-night secret meetings between the former PM and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is desperate for a political comeback.
The crisis comes after a series of deadly attacks in Israel that killed 11 Israelis, putting high pressure on the government.
To the bystander, it’s clear that this government’s prospects of serving out its full term were very much reduced on Wednesday. Even if an election is still a complicated and distant scenario, the political turmoil aids the revolution that opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to foment at a critical moment in his trial, when the testimony of Shlomo Filber, who has turned state’s evidence, raises the danger of a prison term for the former prime minister.
Ministers paid tribute to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Sunday, who is set to leave the job this week after six years.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Mandelblit has filled a “great and significant” role. “We all owe you a debt of gratitude. On behalf of the government of Israel, I would like to thank you, Avichai, for many dedicated years of service to the State of Israel.”
On Sunday, the cabinet voted to establish the commission of inquiry into the incident, which dates back to 2012 and has become known as “Case 3000.” The submarine deal has already led to a number of indictments against several close confidants of Netanyahu, who called for the procurement, though the ex-premier has not been named as a suspect.
In nearly every discussion these days about a possible plea bargain with the defendant Benjamin Netanyahu, supporters of a compromise repeat the same main argument: The deal with the former prime minister is necessary in order to undermine his attack on the justice system. This argument was made most prominently by former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, who explained that he supported the deal because it would “take the sting out of the demolition of the court system.”
(Jan. 10, 2022)
At the start of the hearing, Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court Judge Amit Yariv asked Olmert what he based his claim on when he said “what can’t be fixed is the mental illness of the prime minister and his wife and son. That’s not fixable.”
Olmert responded that “I followed their actions, I listened to recordings of the family members, I consulted with experts and with people close to them who know them well. They described to me behavior that … is known as abnormal behavior, crazy behavior.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is negotiating a plea deal to escape prison and end his corruption trial. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice of Israel and two sources involved in the talks, court terms could be announced before the end of the month.
A court on Sunday accepted the prosecution’s request to extend the deadline due to corona protocols, delaying the next hearing until January 31.
With two weeks left to reach a plea deal, Israel’s attorney general will demand Netanyahu accept a finding of moral turpitude, suspending Israel’s once longest serving prime minister from political office
The bill was rejected by the Knesset plenum six months ago, and since then, Shaked has struggled to obtain a majority. Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) said he was determined to prevent its passage. “We toppled the Citizenship Law, because we oppose racist, anti-democratic legislation”, Odeh said. “We will do everything we can to topple it again.” According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), “This Israeli law is racist, collective, pre-emptive punishment. It can neither be justified, nor redeemed.” The Joint List also oppose Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s bill on drafting yeshiva students. All parties in the coalition support the bill, including Islamist Ra’am (United Arab List).
The controversial bill would tighten immigration controls and make it harder for Palestinians who marry Israeli Arabs to receive citizenship. The passage of a bill backed by right-wing parties and opposed by Meretz and Ra’am (United Arab List) was seen as a first step toward the formation of a right-wing government if opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu accepts a plea agreement.
Asked at Yesh Atid’s faction meeting if he still thinks his rotation as prime minister would happen if Netanyahu signs a plea deal, Lapid said: „This government will last because it does not depend on Netanyahu. It depends on working together & national unity.“
Reports say Mr Netanyahu is, however, objecting to accepting a charge which would require him to leave politics.
Israel’s longest serving leader was unseated after elections last year.
The prosecution’s proposed plea bargain with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contains an inherent contradiction: by insisting that the amended indictment still stresses the gravity of his misdeeds, it risks leading the court to reject the proposed sentence as too lenient.
(December 2, 2019)
By submitting his letter to parliament’s speaker, Mandelblit began an official 30-day window for Netanyahu to ask parliament for immunity. With only a minority in favor, Netanyahu’s odds of success appear slim.
But late Monday, the parliament’s legal adviser, Eyal Yinon, said that any request for immunity would have to be considered by the legislature’s “House Committee.”
The current caretaker government does not have such a committee, and it appears unlikely that it will appoint one before the Dec. 11 deadline.
That means that if Netanyahu submits an immunity request, it will likely be ruled upon only after new elections and formation of a new government that appoints a committee.
Since negotiations for a plea bargain were first made public, Mendelblit has been harshly criticized by Justice Ministry officials and the legal team that manages Netanyahu’s corruption cases, which will be required to negotiate with the former prime minister’s defense attorneys on the wording of the amended indictment. Sources close to the attorney general also believe that he will have a difficult time converting those who oppose the deal in the time he has left.
Talks on a possible plea deal for Netanyahu in his criminal trial have progressed in recent weeks, with a potential solution found to the major sticking point left between his team and state prosecutors, Hebrew-language media reports said over the weekend. Netanyahu has been resisting a deal primarily due to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s demand that his actions be designated as carrying “moral turpitude” — legally barring him from public service for seven years.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is set to retire at the end of January. With with no permanent successor yet determined, it’s unclear if a new attorney general would offer the same deal if Netanyahu does not accept it within the next two weeks.
Mandelblit could see a plea bargain as favorable to end Netanyahu’s attacks on the justice system.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has had an opportunity to look in the eye of one of those witnesses, Nir Hefetz. But, with the exception of a few hours at the start of Hefetz’s testimony, he chose not to do so. Perhaps because the testimony gave the prosecution exactly what it was looking for. Perhaps because the trial is progressing just as it would in Netanyahu’s worst nightmares.
Those statements may sound strange. Anyone following discussion of the trial on the social media sees views that range from “the trial is collapsing” (Bibi-ists) to “What’s going on there?” (the rest of the world).
Israel’s state prosecution submitted a list of 333 witnesses. It frontloaded its best ones. So far, eight have taken the stand. And all of them have obliterated the prosecution’s case. Long-time Israeli jurists and former prosecutors attest that this is the worst presentation of evidence they have ever seen.
(7 December 2021)
Avichai Mandelblit said to tell associates privately that the ex-PM he put on trial hoped to appoint prosecutors and judges who would protect him; ‚democracy not guaranteed‘
(December 7, 2021)
“I left my job working for Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2017 because I thought he was no longer fit to make security decisions due to the situation around him [apparently referring to the criminal trial distraction]. I stand by this, that to this day he is unfit to hold Israel’s security in his hands because of his situation. This is worse than a criminal issue. This could have ended with thousands of dead people.”
Within minutes, his testimony was out in the open.
(22.11.2021)
„Who did not see with his own eyes the level of control he exercised in this area can not realize it.“
The ex-adviser called his former employer „someone who would be beyond obsession with control. His entourage knows he should never be disturbed, except for anything related to the media. He wants to know everything, down to the smallest detail. Even when he was in security meetings, he demanded that he be passed notes.“
(22.11.2021)
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks for permission to be excused from the remainder of the testimony of Nir Hefetz, his former aide-turned-state’s witness, in his criminal trial.
(22.11.2021)
Detailing how the then-prime minister tried to use Elovtich’s “gift” of the Walla site, Hefetz said that Netanyahu was a “control freak” when it came to his public image, and that “he could not be more controlling in all matters relating to the media and his social media channels.”
“He demands to know everything, down to the smallest detail,” Hefetz said, confirming that Netanyahu himself made the requests to change coverage at Walla.
The corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu took a dramatic turn Monday with the arrival of Nir Hefetz – former close aide and confidant, spin doctor, and, now, key state witness against his former boss
key prosecution witness in former Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial began testifying on Monday, one week later than planned, telling the court that the former prime minister was heavily fixated on media coverage of himself.
Nir Hefetz, a former media adviser to Netanyahu and his family, will testify in all three of the corruption cases against the former prime minister. His testimony is therefore expected to continue for quite some time.
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
Netanyahu’s defense team requested that the hearing be postponed.
According to the prosecution’s statement, the new information is not directly connected to the testimony of state witness Nir Hefetz, a former aide of Netanyahu’s. In the wake of the announcement, Hefetz’s lawyers asked the Jerusalem District Court to postpone their client’s testimony scheduled for Tuesday.
The man who will take the witness stand in Jerusalem’s District Court on Tuesday is a refined embodiment of the Israeli power structure. Nir Hefetz was once the right-hand man of the country’s three dominant alpha males: former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes and one-time tycoon Nochi Dankner.
There’s no better indicator of the judgment and moral compass of the men who presided over the nation’s government, media and economy.
Put simply, Hefetz is expected to testify that Netanyahu gave him orders dozens of times over several years in 2013-2016 to order former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua to direct coverage the way the former prime minister wanted – and that Netanyahu gave him orders to ensure that Communications Ministry policy benefited Bezeq and Walla owner Shaul Elovitch.
(01.10.2021)
There are two parts to Case 4000, the Bezeq-Walla Affair.
One part is the accusation that Netanyahu got control over Walla coverage; and the other is that the then-prime minister and communications minister influenced government policy to favor Bezeq.
The connector between Walla and Bezeq was Shaul Elovitch, who owned both.
Yuli Edelstein did it, big-time. He said out loud what other senior Likud politicians have been whispering to journalists “not for attribution” – that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no chance of being able to form a government even after the next election. Edelstein broke the fear barrier.
The current case is just one of three that Netanyahu is facing in Jerusalem District Court on a range of corruption charges stemming from his alleged conduct as prime minister. He denies any wrongdoing.
In the case currently being heard, dubbed Case 4000, the former prime minister is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, arising from allegations that he traded favorable coverage from the Walla website for government regulatory concessions to Walla’s parent company, the Bezeq telecommunications firm.
Nach Angaben des syrischen Verteidigungsministeriums hat Israel erneut Luftangriffe auf syrisches Gebiet geflogen.
Milchan is a witness in the trial of Netanyahu, who has been charged with fraud and breach of trust. The indictment says that in the summer of 2013, Milchan asked then-Finance Minister Yair Lapid to extend returning Israeli citizens‘ exemption from taxes and from the requirement to report to the tax authorities. Lapid refused and Milchan took the matter up with his friend at the time, Netanyahu.
Wegen der Nationalratssondersitzung am Dienstag, die die Anwesenheit des Kanzlers erfordere, sei die für kommende Woche geplante Reise „in letzter Minute“ abgesagt worden, schrieb der Journalist des israelischen Fernsehsenders Kan, Amichai Stein, gestern Abend auf Twitter. Aus dem Bundeskanzleramt hieß es dazu auf APA-Anfrage, dass die Reise verschoben werde.
It is doubtful whether Netanyahu, who was on vacation from Aug. 15 to Sept. 1, should have been there at all: Ellison, who is seventh on the Forbes list of the richest people on earth, is also listed as a witness for the prosecution in Netanyahu’s trial on three charges of criminal corruption, which resumed this week after a three month break.
The major drama on opening day came from outside the courtroom—and outside the country—with news that Haim Geron, a former deputy director general of the communications ministry and another witness for the prosecution, died in a mysterious private plane crash near the Greek island of Samos.
(13.09.2021)
The two were identified as Esti and Haim Garon, the latter of whom served as the deputy director of the Communications Ministry and was a prosecution witness in Netanyahu’s trial.
(SEPTEMBER 13, 2021)
The trial of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for suspected bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which was postponed due to new evidence on ex-Walla CEO’s cell phone, reopened on Monday.
Abbas and Bennett agree on little ideologically. Abbas leads the United Arab List, a party that champions Palestinian self-determination, while Bennett comes from Israel’s right wing and has pledged that a Palestinian state will not arise on his watch. But they coalesced around the goal of removing Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who they saw as divisive and corrupt.
Surprisingly, Gertler submitted the documents that got him into trouble while he was receiving legal counsel from top lawyers in Israel. In the arbitration, Gertler is represented by attorneys Dori Klagsbald and Boaz Ben Zur. The latter is also former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense attorney in the so-called Case 4000, in which Netanyahu is accused of offering favors for positive media coverage.
(05.07.2021)
The trial has been frozen since June 16 and will now reconvene on July 19 instead of the prior dates of July 5 or 12 for restarting witness testimony of July 5, reported The Jerusalem Post.
The court’s decision effectively means that the trial will not fully restart until October; the court’s summer recess runs from July 21 – September 1 and many of September’s hearings will be canceled due to the Jewish High Holy Days and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
After 12 years in power, MK Benjamin Netanyahu adopted more than a few traits of this type: He turned the members of the government and cabinet into rubber stamps and concentrated power and numerous types of authority in his office. He undermined the principle of the separation of authorities, and especially the independence of the justice system and law enforcement, he compartmentalized the executive branch, cultivated a personal and familial cult of personality, ascribed to himself superhuman qualities, quashed the political competition in Likud and became his party’s supreme leader.
(02.06.2021)
So is this the end of the road for the man who has been the dominant Israeli political figure of his era? Is this the beginning of a sharp change in direction for Israel?
My advice? Don’t bet the house on it. And don’t count him out until you hear the prison doors clang shut behind him.
Der Vorwurf der Netanyahu-Anhänger: Verrat. Wer mit Stimmen rechter Wähler ins Parlament gekommen sei, könne sich an dieser Koalition nicht beteiligen, erklärte Benjamin Netanyahu in den vergangenen Tagen immer wieder.
„Wir sind Zeugen des größten Wahlbetrugs in der Geschichte des Staates, vielleicht sogar in der Geschichte der Demokratie. Ich habe etwas Vergleichbares gesucht, aber auch viele Wissenschaftler konnten solch einen Betrug nirgendwo anders finden. Es sind die Parteien, die rechts reden und links handeln und so ihre Wähler in die Irre geführt haben. „
Cohen was asked about his relationship with Packer following a Haaretz investigation, which revealed he had received a $20,000 gift for his daughter’s wedding, though the figure cited in ‚Uvda‘ was lower.
The recently retired Mossad chief, who is a close confidant of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also asserted that „everything was done in consultation and with the approval of the attorney general“ and that Packer wanted to give „much more.“
Following overnight efforts, the negotiating teams of the parties opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have made progress in formulating an agreement for a unity government, officials from the parties said Tuesday morning.
The teams from Yesh Atid, Yamina, New Hope and Yisrael Beiteinu will reconvene in Kfar Hamacabiah in the afternoon in an effort to seal the agreements.
Minutes after Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said he would join Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid in forming a national unity government, Netanyahu lashed out in a televised address, calling the plan „a danger for the security of Israel“ and saying that under the resulting government would be at the mercy of the far left.
Early last week, the PM appeared to be on the way out, with his rivals about to announce a coalition. Now they have only a few days left, and much reduced chances
(today)
Bensouda announced on March 3 that she had opened a full investigation into actions committed by Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem since 2014.
Israel today vowed to bring ‚total, long-term quiet‘ to the Gaza Strip amid growing international alarm at the increasing civilian death toll from retaliatory air strikes targeting Hamas militants.
‚The army will continue to attack to bring a total, long-term quiet. Only when we reach that goal will we be able to speak about a truce,‘ Defence Minister Benny Gantz said as the Palestinian death toll rose to 43, including 13 children. At least 230 Palestinians have been wounded.
Abbas, ideologically is a part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He cannot aid ti form a government which will involve itself in a war on his own people in #Gaza and one of the most sacred places to Islam.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a convicted terrorist and now, shamefully, a member of the Knesset, has disclosed he told #Netanyahu that if there will be a war in #Gaza, Lapid won’t be able to form a government.
Netanyahu’s propagandists have said roughly the same, though not directly.
(11.05.2021)
Israeli children should not have to spend the night scared in bomb shelters, as many are doing tonight. Palestinian children should not have to grow up under the constant violence and oppression of occupation, as so many do, and have done.
The United States must call for an immediate cease-fire and an end to provocative and illegal settlement activity. And we must also recommit to working with Israelis and Palestinians to finally end this conflict.
Twenty-nine chaotic and nightmarish months, during which Israel has been dragged kicking and screaming into four elections by a cynical, unrestrained, corrupt and corrupting leader, might soon come to an end. Maybe even next week. A disgraceful, dark chapter in the country’s 73 years will end.
Der politische Überlebenskünstler Netanyahu ist in Not. Bis Mitternacht muss Israels Premier eine neue Mehrheit zusammen haben, sonst verliert er den Auftrag zur Regierungsbildung. Und noch zeichnet sich keine Lösung ab.
Netanyahu’s trial resumed Monday after a two-week hiatus.
Defense attorneys began cross-examining Ilan Yeshua, who testified he was pressured to skew coverage on Walla in favor of Netanyahu and his family. Yeshua linked it to the alleged expectation of the then-controlling shareholder of Bezeq telecommunications, Shaul Elovitch, to receive regulatory concessions from Netanyahu in return for the favorable coverage. Walla was owned by Bezeq at the time.
(29.04.2021)
James Packer wasn’t just another billionaire who developed relationships with Israel’s elite. The Australian media and casino tycoon with the troubled psyche mingled with those in the most secret circles in the country. Benjamin Netanyahu exploited him to the hilt – and he wasn’t the only one who did so.
In Israel läuft seit Wochen der erste Korruptionsprozess gegen Regierungschef Benjamn Netanjahu. Der zentrale Zeuge schilderte dabei im Detail, wie ein Regierungschef versucht, sich Medien gefügig zu machen: mit dem Versprechen, dem Inhaber via Medienbehörde lukrative Vorteile zu verschaffen, und gleichzeitigen Drohungen, ständigen Interventionen zu Artikeln und enormem internem Druck – dokumentiert in Telefonaufzeichnungen und Chatverläufen, in denen Netanjahu als „der Große“ bezeichnet wird.
In addition, a few moments before Netanyahu announced his decision to back Gantz for the position, he apparently was made aware that Bennett held his first meeting with Mansour Abbas – the leader of the Islamist Ra’am party – in an effort to form a unity government.
Hours before the High Court of Justice was due to decide on the legality of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to install a justice minister from his own party, the premier announced Wednesday afternoon he supports the appointment of Blue & White leader Benny Gantz for the position.
In a statement Netanyahu said, „The prime minister submitted a detailed response to the High Court that completely rejects the court’s claim that yesterday’s vote was illegal.“
„However,“ Netanyahu said, „after the prime minister’s attempts at compromise were rejected again this morning, and in order to extract us from this dead end situation and allow the Justice Ministry to function, the prime minister decided to appoint Benny Gantz to the post of Justice Minister for the tenure of the interim government.“
Netanyahu’s refusal to appoint a justice minister is a direct assault on this nation. It is that simple.
His reasoning is also simple: Netanyahu does not want to fill the role with someone who is not subservient and willing to go along with coordinated efforts to escape his bribery trial.
Rather, it is the public danger he constitutes and his conspiring to topple state institutions. Ordinary criminal defendants who behaved as Netanyahu has would have long since been ordered to remain in custody for the duration of legal proceedings, lest they obstruct the investigation and trial, and for disobeying a court order. But we can’t complain to Netanyahu about it, when the court itself gives him license to harm it.
The High Court of Justice was to convene at 5pm Tuesday after the government failed to appoint a justice minister within the time frame allocated by the court.
The latest attempt to end the deadlock over the appointment of the minister failed when the government voted down a move by Blue & White leader Benny Gantz to return to the ministry on a permanent basis.
The justice minister post has remained empty since Gantz’s term as acting justice minister lapsed on April 1. The appointment of a justice minister is a particularly sensitive issue, given that Netanyahu is currently amid an ongoing corruption trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
The testimony of former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua, who alleges that Benjamin Netanyahu sought favorable coverage in exchange for regulatory relief for Walla’s owners Bezeq, is set to continue in the third day of the prime minister’s trial, just 24 hours after President Reuven Rivlin reluctantly tasked him with forming a government.
(Suchergebnisse)
They told him that Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu’s former media advisor, told them that an investigation had been opened and that „all of them needed to coordinate their stories.“
„They proposed that I say that I initiated everything, that it was for ideological reasons, that I didn’t want the site to be leftist,“ Yeshua said.
„They said that I needed to erase all of our correspondence,“ to which Yeshua objected, and said he told Elovitch that he was concerned that he would accidentally lose private photos. According to Yeshua, the two pressed him to delete the photos and said it critical that he did it.
Angesichts des Korruptionsprozesses gegen den Regierungschef sei es keine leichte Entscheidung gewesen, ihn erneut mit der Regierungsbildung zu beauftragen, sagte Rivlin.
At the start of the session, the prosecution told Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman that Yeshua complained before them he received threatening messages after his testimony on Monday, and that Israel Police were informed.
Friedman-Feldman told prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari that the defense should have been notified as well as the police. „We don’t want to create drama or an impression that we’re contacting the witness,“ Ben-Ari said, to which Friedman-Feldman replied that it could influence his testimony.
This is the fifth time since becoming president in 2014, and the fourth time in the last two years, that Rivlin is forced to engage in this process.
(today)
“The entire proceeding against me was an abuse of the destructive power the prosecution holds,” Netanyahu said at a press conference. The prime minister referred to the hearing as a „charade,“ and went as far as accusing the state prosecution of an „attempted coup.“
„The prosecution opened this investigation against the law… and why did they do it? Because they’re on the hunt,“ Netanyahu claimed.
Der Premier soll regulatorische Gefälligkeiten von Behörden im Wert von rund 500 Millionen Dollar gewährt haben im Gegenzug für eine bessere Berichterstattung über Netanjahu und seine Frau Sara auf der konzerneigenen Website Walla.
(today)
The second group of witnesses are to testify in the so-called Case 1000 – the illicit gifts affair. First up will be businessman Arnon Milchan, who according to the indictment gave Netanyahu gifts valued at hundreds of thousands of shekels. The prosecution recently announced that it had moved up the testimony of the witnesses in this case, following a report in Haaretz that the prosecutors feared the prime minister could exert undue influence on Milchan.
(17.02.2021)
According to Channel 13 news, Netanyahu phoned Milchan on consecutive days last year around May or June, apparently around the time of the Shavuot holiday, telling him how much he and his wife Sara love the Hollywood producer and his family.
The calls came after Netanyahu pressured Milchan to release lawyer Boaz Ben Tzur so he could instead represent the prime minister, the network said.
Israels Premierminister steht wegen Machtmissbrauchs und Korruption vor Gericht, und doch wird eine Regierungsbildung ohne ihn schwer.
Yeshua, the first witness, is testifying on the claims that Walla gave favorable coverage to Netanyahu at the request of Walla owner Shaul Elovitch. The latter, who was the controlling shareholder of the telecommunications giant Bezeq, is accused of bribing the prime minister, which, according to the indictment against Netanyahu and Elovitch, he did in exchange for regulatory benefits the prime minister gave Bezeq when he was communications minister.
Lead prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari told judges that Netanyahu was involved in „a serious case of government corruption.“
In the past, Rivlin has set about consulting with party leaders immediately. This time, for an unexplained reason, he will start the consultations only on Monday, just two days before the deadline. This despite the fact that the new Knesset has no fewer than 13 parties, the highest number during his presidency.
Could the timing have anything to do with the fact that Monday is also the day when Netanyahu is finally due back in court, for the first testimony from a witness for the prosecution in his criminal trial?
Prior to the meeting, Gantz took to Facebook to announce his support of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid for the premiership and warned Mansour Abbas that “Bibi will use you” — referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Israeli nickname.
In turn, Likud party members have begun talks with Mansour Abbas, leader of the Islamist party Ra’am and likely kingmaker in Israel’s March 23 election, who has not ruled out supporting a Netanyahu-led government.
According to online outlet Walla, citing Likud party officials, Abbas is not in favor of passing laws aimed at targeting individuals, but their position is not yet finalized.
This entails replacing the Knesset Speaker, taking over the chairmanship of the House Committee and the chairmanship of the Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees as well, Maariv reported.
Liberman further stressed in discussions the need to advance immediately legislation that will prevent an indicted individual to contend for the premiership.
United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas said Wednesday that he is not „obligated to any bloc or any candidate,“ after the Islamist party surpassed the electoral threshold, with almost 90 percent of the vote counted in Israel’s unprecedented fourth election in under two years.
Our investigative department got hold of new evidence concerning the Submarines Affair (our efforts continue – the department still investigates the affair in full energy). In our petition to the High Court of Justice we requested the judges to order the following:
1. Criminal investigation of Netanyahu’s Steel Shares Affair. 2. Criminal investigation against Netanyahu in the Submarines Affair. 3. Establishing a State Inquiry Committee in order to finally investigate this severe affair.
Victory for the pro-Netanyahu bloc might make him unstoppable, but the opposition’s impulse to depose the ruler could lead to some short-term pragmatism
Election Overdose podcast, episode 12, five days to go: Did Bibi’s handling of COVID-19 help or harm his electoral prospects ■ How the center-left opposition failed so miserably ■ Plus: Polls galore and last-minute surprises
Laschet is committed to Chancellor Merkel’s famous sentence, which she uttered when addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem in 2008, that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’être. According to Speich, “it is Laschet’s fundamental foreign policy conviction that Germany must commit itself to the security of Israel. It is a political obligation.”
(04.12.2019)
Several prominent U.S. billionaires are on the list of over 300 people who could potentially be called as witnesses at Prime Minister Benjamin’s Netanyahu’s upcoming corruption trial.
The opening of the premier’s trial last May followed years of investigations, deliberations and legal proceedings that eventually took place during the course of three election campaigns, capped by a last-minute delay due to the coronavirus.
The court rejected a demand from the prime minister’s lawyers to dismiss the indictment by reason of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s failure to formally file a written request for the probe of Netanyahu.
However, the court did condemn Mandelblit for the oversight, saying it was a „defect“ in the legal procedures.
„This is a matter of procedural defect which doesn’t concern the root of the matter,“ the court stated, as cited by Hamodia.
Die Anwälte des Regierungschefs hatten Berichten zufolge auf einen Termin nach dem für den 23. März geplanten Urnengang gedrängt. Es ist die vierte Abstimmung binnen zwei Jahren.
A year after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the three-fold crisis plaguing Israeli society threatens the basic contract between the state and its citizenry, and has led to a lack of trust in government leaders and institutions and an ‚unparalleled degree of polarization‘.
(04.12.2019)
Several prominent U.S. billionaires are on the list of over 300 people who could potentially be called as witnesses at Prime Minister Benjamin’s Netanyahu’s upcoming corruption trial.
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
As Netanyahu arrived at court, some 150 protesters carrying signs that read „the State of Israel vs. Benjamin Netanyahu“ and „May The Defendant Rise“ demonstrated across the street.
By decision of the judges, Netanyahu had to attend the hearing.
Es ist das erste Mal seit Prozessbeginn im Mai vergangenen Jahres, dass der 71-Jährige sowie weitere Angeklagte im Jerusalemer Bezirksgericht wieder bei einer Sitzung anwesend sein müssen.
The far-right Kahanist party, Otzma Yehudit, announced on Wednesday that it will run on a joint slate with the National Union Party in Israel’s March election.
National Union said that they are still in talks with the far-right Habayit Hayehudi party and welcome a merger.
A year ago, Netanyahu waived his parliamentary immunity after he realized that in the Knesset elected in September 2019, he had no chance of receiving immunity. But the prime minister’s lawyers recently claimed in court that he never waived his right to parliamentary immunity, saying that the Knesset’s immunity proceedings were flawed.
(09.01.2021)
The order could potentially postpone the calling of witnesses to right before Election Day, or right after.
The order came less than 48 hours after the same court rejected Netanyahu’s request for postponing his January 13 hearing next week.
The moment of truth for our future is approaching. What we saw the other day on the steps of the Capitol and inside it is a warning sign. Netanyahu’s readiness to break every rule and law is obvious, and reached a peak at the start of his trial, with that scene in the courthouse that could have come right out of a gangster movie. And in fact, the prosecutor in his trial is already under guard day and night, just like the prosecutors in the trials of organized crime bosses, and for the same reasons.
The trial has begun, and so a new situation is before us.
The amended indictment against Benjamin Netanyahu in Case 4000 (the Bezeq-Walla case) is a hair-raising document that details no fewer than 230 demands by the prime minister and members of his immediate family for more favorable coverage from the Walla news website – 150 of them by Netanyahu himself, either directly or via an intermediary. It shows yet again how Walla became a propaganda tool for Netanyahu in the guise of an independent media outlet.
(01.01.2021)
In a weekend interview with Yediot Aharonot, Gantz said „I felt him stabbing me in the back and turning the knife.“
Nissenkorn, whose resignation took effect Friday morning, wrote on Facebook afterward that Gantz made „crazy concessions“ that would have emptied the justice minister post of authority in an effort to keep the government together.
The High Court, its president, Esther Hayut, the prosecution, Mendelblit, all have been subjected to brutal, ugly attacks. There’s no reason to envy them. But if there’s one thing they understand from their own life experience: Silence and capitulation is no way to stop a serial attacker.
In a speech far harsher than any delivered by a rival from the left, Elkin confirmed what Netanyahu’s fiercest enemies had been claiming all along: The prime minister had subordinated the good of the country, including its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, to his endless quest to avoid standing trial for criminal corruption.
In its announcement Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office stated its intention to indict corporate entities Yedioth Aharonoth and Walla as well as Eurocom group companies through which Elovich controlled Bezeq, subject to a prior hearing. The Elovich group companies are suspected of bribery and money laundering, while Yedioth Aharonoth is accused of offering a bribe.
(22.12.2020)
The coronavirus pandemic is dangerous enough on its own – but adding the considerations of a prime minister who is a criminal defendant trying to escape justice, the result is systematic disregard for the population
Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party said Sunday that it has agreed to postpone the Tuesday deadline to pass Israel’s 2020 state budget by one week, in a move that could give it more time to negotiate a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud to avoid what would be a fourth election cycle in two years.
Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz has agreed to curb Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn’s powers, sources said, in bid to stave off election.
In return, Gantz hopes to cement the rotation agreement for the premiership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is upheld.
The three-judge panel headed by Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman is expected to focus in Sunday’s hearing on Netanyahu’s claim that he was protected by parliamentary immunity at the time of the filing of the indictments against him. The panel is expected to rule on the issue in the next few weeks because there is no dispute over the facts on this issue.
Gantz hatte diese Runde der Auseinandersetzung in der vorigen Woche mit einem Frontalangriff auf Netanyahu eröffnet, als er in seinem Ministerium eine Untersuchungskommission einsetzte, die den Kauf deutscher U-Boote näher beleuchten soll. Es geht um den Verdacht der Korruption im engeren Umfeld des Premiers.
The commission’s first meeting, scheduled for Monday, has been postponed at Mendelblit’s request until the scope of its activity has been defined. The commission is expected to submit a final report in about four months.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated on Saturday evening against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at intersections, bridges and squares across Israel, as weekly demonstrations continued for the 23rd week in a row.
The prime minister’s lawyers had also previously argued that the trial should be delayed due to coronavirus health restrictions, saying that it would be difficult to see whether a masked witness was „telling the truth.“
Mr. Netanyahu was not named as a suspect in an earlier police investigation of the purchase of submarines and missile boats from Germany that caught up several of his close associates. The planned commission of inquiry lacks legal authority. It may summon any witness to testify but cannot compel anybody to appear before it.
The submarine affair has become a central element in the protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where demonstrators have carried inflatable submarines inscribed with slogans like “S.S. Investigation.” Protesters are calling for a commission of inquiry into the affair, as well as calling on Netanyahu to step down in light of his corruption charges.
Police say they arrested 18 with protesters claiming 23 have been detained as they demand Netanyahu be investigated for the so-called ’submarine affair‘
Last Thursday, in an interview with Radio Anas, Abbas said he wouldn’t dismiss supporting legislation to freeze Netanyahu’s trial. The choice of Matanyahu Englman as state comptroller was attributed to the “defection” of Ra’am members from the opposition ranks, in addition to Abbas’ support for canceling the vote that approved the establishment of an inquiry committee on the submarine procurements.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need to control this government’s expiry date is dooming it to complete paralysis in everything pertaining to senior officials’ appointments, and to preparing next year’s state budget.
The damage is piling up daily, and if the public cannot detect it, this is only because people are busy worrying about their physical and financial health.
: Representatives of the ruling party (in the spirit of the commander, the commander’s wife and their son) long ago crossed the red line that separates the parliamentary freedom to criticize and exercise oversight of the branches of government, and sowing fear, stoking unbridled incitement and making explicit threats against those who displease them.
Zohar allgedly threatened Mendelblit in October, saying that if the attorney general did not resign from his position and drop the three pending corruption indictments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incriminating recordings of Mendelblit would be leaked to the public.
The police interrogation of Zohar was authorized by the state prosecutor’s office.
The opinion states that Netanyahu cannot make decisions regarding appointments to the legal system or law enforcment. Netanyahu must also be barred from making decisions regarding witnesses, other defendants or engaging in legislation that could affect the proceedings against him, Mendelblit wrote.
Furthermore, Netanyahu cannot interfere in several areas under the jurisdiction of the Communications Ministry.