Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to a Tel Aviv courtroom on Wednesday as his long-running corruption trial resumed, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for him to be pardoned.
Netanyahu, flanked by ministers from his Likud party, waved at supporters while facing jeers from protesters outside the courthouse. The proceedings mark another chapter in a legal saga that has shadowed Israel’s longest-serving leader since 2020.
He faces three separate cases, including allegations that he and his wife, Sara, received luxury gifts worth over $260,000 from businessmen in exchange for political favours. Other charges accuse him of offering regulatory benefits for favourable media coverage.
Netanyahu has denied all allegations, describing the trial as a “politically motivated witch hunt.”
Trump, during remarks in the Knesset on Monday, urged Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to issue a pardon, dismissing the charges by saying, “Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?”
The appeal came amid renewed U.S.-Israel diplomatic talks following a truce that led to the release of Hamas-held hostages.
Netanyahu, who has led Israel for 18 years in total, also faces mounting international scrutiny, including an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes tied to Israel’s Gaza operations.
