ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU APPEARS IN COURT FOR CORRUPTION TRIAL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in Jerusalem's District Court on Monday, February 8, 2021, to formally reject the charges in his corruption trial, Ofira Koopmans and Tamara Zieve reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa.)

Netanyahu wore a black face mask during the morning hearing, which he briefly attended before departing, leaving his defense attorneys to carry on without him.

The prime minister stood before the court and confirmed that the written response submitted to the court was his reply to the charges.

A panel of three judges heard defense attorneys respond for the first time to the indictment filed against the 71-year-old, the first sitting premier in Israel's history to stand trial.

Netanyahu's lawyer Boaz Ben Tzur based his argument on procedural aspects of the investigations against the prime minster, accusing the police of starting a probe without getting proper approval from the attorney general.

The prosecution denied this.

This was the second time Netanyahu appeared in court in connection to the trial. He did so first in May, when the indictment was read out to him. The indictment accuses him of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.

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