Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finished testifying today in his criminal trial after 1.5 years and 98 court sessions, the longest testimony ever given by a defendant in Israeli criminal law. The article presents his closing remarks to the judges as a major legal and public moment, and says the testimony comes about a decade after the investigations began.
Netanyahu accused investigators of carrying out a vast effort to build a case against him. He said they sent people to the Philippines to examine a housekeeper, and to the United States, Europe, and Australia, using a large team and huge financial resources. “The goal was one thing, to burn with iron and find something, but they found nothing,” he said, adding that this kind of effort, in his view, was not law enforcement but “turning law upside down.”
He also said the investigations dragged in family members, close associates, and many people who worked with him, with some being warned or questioned under caution. “They destroyed families, and many,” he said. Netanyahu argued that the probe was not aimed at finding an offense but at targeting him personally: “They were not looking for an offense, they were looking for a person.”
He denied claims about cash-filled envelopes, favorable regulation, or other corruption allegations, saying authorities instead tried to create an offense. He described the case as a “meticulous and insane hunt,” and said the only person fighting it with all available means was the one on trial. Netanyahu also referred to spyware use and said, “We are not a police state.” He ended by telling the judges, “The decision is in your hands. Bring truth to the public. Truth. And only justice.” The article’s author, Yaara Zard, says she has followed the investigations for about ten years and hopes justice will be done.
