TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2021) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him during a fresh hearing being held on Monday, the Haaretz newspaper reported.
The session, which was initially scheduled for January 13, was postponed by the Jerusalem District Court to February 8 over the COVID-19-related restrictions.
The prime minister has reaffirmed a written response submitted by his defense team to the court in his own name, saying that he was not guilty to all the charges against him, according to Haaretz.
Netanyahu's arrival at the court was met by about 150 demonstrators who took to the street carrying signs such as "the State of Israel vs. Benjamin Netanyahu" and "May The Defendant Rise," the newspaper reported.
The court session has ended with no results, the Israeli Channel 12 reported. According to the broadcaster, Netanyahu's lawyers asked to postpone the next hearing for three or four months.
Netanyahu has been the subject of multiple corruption investigations, including over claims he received expensive gifts from various businessmen, advanced a law that would benefit one of Israel's major newspapers and supported looser regulation of telecommunication company Bezeq in return for positive coverage.
The inquiry forced the prime minister to abandon all ministerial posts except the premiership, with Israel rocked by a lengthy political power crisis that triggered the country's fourth elections in two years after the collapse of Netanyahu's center-right coalition. The snap elections will take place on March 23.
The court proceedings are expected to take years to wrap up. If convicted, the 70-year-old politician may face up to 10 years in prison for bribery and up to three years for fraud and breach of trust.
