(10 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv, Israel – 10 December 2024
1. Court hallway
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Matan Gutman, legal commentator:
"It will take a few months, this stage, the testimony of Mr. (Benjamin) Netanyahu. In the first stage, Mr. Netanyahu will give his version to all the charges. But the most interesting part will be in one month from now when it will be a cross examination of the prosecutions of Mr. Netanyahu. And this will be the most interesting part that Netanyahu needs to, have to give answers to a very tough questions."
3. Court hallway
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Matan Gutman, legal commentator:
"So, of course in the background of this testimony, there is a struggle, a struggle between the court and the government. And in the middle there is the attorney general, advocate Gali Baharav-Miara. The ministers and their approach to the court, they said there is no time now to the prime minister to come to the court three times a week during a war. But we must to say, according to the verdict of the Supreme Court four years ago, the Prime Minister Netanyahu can be a prime minister and can be a defendant in a criminal trial. And Mr. Netanyahu said in front of the Supreme Court that he can be a prime minister and also be a defendant in a criminal trial. So I think a proportionality will be the good approach, not three times a week, maybe two times a week. But these trials must to comes to its end."
5. More of hallway
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Matan Gutman, legal commentator:
"It was two years ago. I think it was tried to do a deal, but unfortunately, I don’t see any chance now that there will be a deal. Unfortunately, I think for the cause of the state of Israel, we need to find a deal and to finish this trial. I think that at least two years from now, it will end – this trial. And who knows what will happen?"
7. Hallway
STORYLINE:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken to the stand on Tuesday in his long-running trial for alleged corruption, setting off what’s expected to be a weekslong spectacle that will draw unwelcome attention to his legal woes as he faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes and the fighting in Gaza continues.
"In the first stage, Mr. Netanyahu will give his version to all the charges," said legal commentator Matan Gutman.
"But the most interesting part will be in one month from now" when Netanyahu is cross examined by prosecution and expected to answer "very tough questions," Gutman added.
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
He is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne and exchanging favors with wealthy associates.
Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, saying the charges are a witch hunt.
The testimony, set to take place six hours a day, three days a week for several weeks, will take up a significant chunk of Netanyahu’s working hours, prompting critics to ask if he can capably manage a country embroiled in a war on one front, containing the fallout from a second, and keeping tabs on other potential regional threats, including from Iran or the recent fall of Bashar Assad in Syria.
Netanyahu, in his testimony, said he could "find a balance" between both commitments.
"I don’t see any chance now that there will be a deal. Unfortunately, I think for the cause of the state of Israel, we need to find a deal and to finish this trial," said Gutman.
A verdict isn’t expected until 2026 at the earliest and Netanyahu will have the option to appeal at the Supreme Court.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/86587a7df3f2494ab615f3d46ee76798
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in December 15, 2024, 12:04 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
