After appearing in court for his corruption trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted on Monday the State Prosecution, Israel Police and the media, alleging they have conspired to stage a political coup against him.
“The prosecution is on a witch-hunt. They were looking for me. Whitewashed investigations, conducted illegal searches and erased recordings. And the worst of all: It blackmailed witnesses with severe threats to the point of breaking up families,” Netanyahu said at a press conference. ”This is what an attempted coup looks like.”
“When the police commissioner blamed me for sending private investigators against him, when a witch-hunt of this magnitude is effectuated against me and my family, it is very difficult,” he maintained.
“This is not something that is supposed to take place in a democracy,” the premier continued. “I cannot hold myself back on this, therefore I am saying these things here and in great pain.”
Earlier on Monday, the evidentiary stage of Netanyahu’s graft trial began at the Jerusalem District Court, where the state’s lead prosecutor, Liat Ben-Ari, told the judges that the incumbent prime minister was involved in “a serious case of government corruption.”
Netanyahu denies all wrongdoing and claims that the media, police, and state prosecution are colluding to oust him from power.
First published: 19:08, 04.05.21