For the 38th time, Netanyahu appears in court for the 38th time while shas party announce that they will vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared for the 38th time in Tel Aviv District Court on Monday to answer corruption charges against him.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that today is the third day of “counter-interrogation” by the Israeli Public Prosecution.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority added, “The Prime Minister appeared on the third day of cross-examination in Case 1000, during which he will answer questions about his ties to businessman Arnon Milchan”.

“The question at stake is: Is this simply a matter of friendly relations, or is it an advancement of Milchan’s business interests?”.

In the past 35 sessions prior to the cross-examination, Netanyahu has denied the corruption charges against him.

Last Tuesday, the trial entered a new and decisive phase with the start of the prosecution’s interrogation of Netanyahu at the Tel Aviv District Court in what is known as counter-examination.

The Israel Broadcasting Authority reported that Netanyahu requested that today’s interrogation session end early, claiming he had an important diplomatic conversation, without providing further details.

Last January, interrogation sessions began for the Israeli Prime Minister, who denies the charges against him.

Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in what are known as Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000. Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filed the indictment in late November 2019.

The Case 1000 concerns allegations that Netanyahu and members of his family received expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for facilitating and providing assistance to these figures in various fields.

In Case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of negotiating with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the privately owned Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, to obtain positive media coverage.

The more serious Case 4000 concerns the alleged facilitation of favors to the former owner of the Wala website, Shaul Elovitch, who was also an executive at the Bezeq telecommunications company, in exchange for positive media coverage.

Netanyahu’s trial in these cases began in 2020 and is still ongoing.

He denies the charges, claiming they are a “political campaign aimed at ousting him”.

On the other context, the Israeli religious Shas party announced its intention to vote next Wednesday in favor of the bill to dissolve the Knesset, which is scheduled to be presented to parliament for a preliminary vote.

This was stated by Shas spokesman Asher Medina in statements he made to the religious Kol Barma radio station, as reported by the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday.

“At this point, we will vote on Wednesday to dissolve the Knesset. We are disappointed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Medina said.

A Shas party spokesman repeated the same statement to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

He added, “We’re not pleased with the fall of a right-wing government, but we feel that someone is persecuting the Haredi public, and we cannot continue to tolerate the status quo”.