US Ambassador to Israel Meets Netanyahu During His Trial

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee arrived at the Tel Aviv District Court as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial resumed.

Netanyahu's military advisor also arrived at the courtroom, and the session was adjourned for about half an hour for a security update.

"The president spoke about what we saw as a witch hunt in the United States, and it's very difficult to do the job that the people elected you to do when you're tied up in legal matters that distract from your job," Huckabee told Netanyahu.

He added that Trump "understands how difficult it is when you're in the middle of a very tense state, to spend so much time in a courtroom before unfair judges. I think the president isn't trying to take sides in what's happening in Israel, but he understands from personal experience how difficult it is to do the job the people elected you to do."

Today's court session focused on Case 1000 and Netanyahu's relationship with American-Israeli film producer Arnon Milchan. The prosecutor stated that part of the hearing would be held behind closed doors.

Unlike previous court sessions, the judges barred journalists from photographing Netanyahu after they entered the courtroom before him.

The State Prosecution began questioning Netanyahu in Case 1000 on June 3, departing from the order it had followed in presenting the prosecution's case. It began with Case 4000, in which Netanyahu is accused of granting favors to Shaul Elovitch, the owner of the Bezeq telecommunications company, in exchange for favorable media coverage on the Walla! website, which Elovitch also owns. The prosecution considered the first case to be the strongest in terms of evidence against Netanyahu, unlike the last case (Case 4000), in which the judges recommended the prosecution drop the bribery charge, the most serious of the three charges in the case.

Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and treason in three corruption cases, known as Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000. An indictment was filed against him in late November 2023. In Case 2000, he is accused of negotiating with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to obtain positive media coverage.