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Netanyahu is set to take the witness stand for the first time in his corruption trial in Israel

Netanyahu is set to take the witness stand for the first time in his corruption trial in Israel
File photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives at the District Court in Jerusalem, Israel, June 25, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 09 December 2024

Netanyahu is set to take the witness stand for the first time in his corruption trial in Israel

Netanyahu is set to take the witness stand for the first time in his corruption trial in Israel
  • The Israeli leader faces charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs
  • The trial began in 2020, and a verdict is not expected until at least 2026.

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to take to the witness stand Tuesday for the first time in his trial on corruption allegations, a pivotal point in the drawn-out proceedings that comes as the leader wages war in Gaza and faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes charges.
At home, Netanyahu is on trial for accusations of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, but his appearance on the witness stand will be a low point in his decades-long political career, standing in contrast to the image of a sophisticated, respected leader he has tried to cultivate.
The trial will take up a chunk of Netanyahu’s time at a crucial point for Israel. While he makes his case for weeks from the stand, he will still be tasked with managing the war in Gaza, maintaining a fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and keeping tabs on threats from the wider Middle East, including Iran.
It will be the first time an Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a criminal defendant, and Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings, citing the ongoing Gaza war and security concerns. The judges ordered the trial to resume Tuesday, moving the proceedings to an underground chamber in a Tel Aviv court as a security precaution.
Netanyahu’s appearance in the courtroom will also draw attention to other legal issues in the Israeli leader’s orbit. Close advisers in his office are embroiled in a separate series of scandals surrounding leaked classified information and doctored documents. While Netanyahu is not suspected of direct involvement in those, they could weaken his public image.
Here is a look at the ongoing trial.
Where does Netanyahu’s trial stand?
The trial, which began in 2020, involves three separate cases in which prosecutors say Netanyahu exchanged regulatory favors with media titans for favorable press coverage and advanced the personal interests of a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for lavish gifts.
Prosecutors have called roughly 140 witnesses to the stand — fewer than the 300 initially expected to testify.
Those witnesses have included some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned against him, as well as a former prime minister, former security chiefs and media personalities. Lawyers have submitted thousands of items of evidence — recordings, police documents, text messages.
A new documentary, “The Bibi Files,” has shined new light on the cases by obtaining footage of Netanyahu being questioned by police, as well as interrogations of his wife and some key witnesses. In a glimpse of what can be expected in the courtroom, Netanyahu appears both combative and anxious at times, accusing police of unfairly picking on him and denigrating other witnesses as liars.
The prosecution called to the stand its final witness over the summer, bringing to an end three years of testimony and setting the stage for the defense to lay out its case, with Netanyahu its first witness. Netanyahu’s appearance will give Israelis a chance to see the long-serving Israeli leader answer to the charges before the three-judge panel.
What are some notable moments from Netanyahu’s trial?
The prosecution has sought to portray Netanyahu as media-obsessed, to push its narrative that he would break the law for favorable coverage.
Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but also on sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living lavishly on the backs of taxpayers and wealthy supporters.
One former aide and a key prosecution witness called him a “control freak” over his image. Another witness described expensive gifts for Netanyahu and his wife.
Arnon Milchan, an Israeli producer of Hollywood blockbuster films such as “Pretty Woman,” took the stand last year by videoconference, describing how he routinely delivered tens of thousands of dollars of champagne, cigars and other gifts requested by the Israeli leader.
One key witness, a former top aide to Netanyahu, stunned prosecutors by backtracking from his earlier claims against the prime minister, opening the door for the defense to erode his credibility as a witness. The trial was jolted by Israeli media reports that police used sophisticated phone-hacking software to spy on this witness.
What happens next in Netanyahu’s trial?
The prosecution formally rested its case in July, and the court recessed for the summer and fall. The defense has repeatedly asked for delays in Netanyahu’s testimony, which have mostly been denied.
Like other witnesses, Netanyahu will testify three days a week, for hours at a time, and his testimony is expected to last weeks. The defense will seek to depict Netanyahu as a law-abiding leader who was a victim of careless and biased police investigations.
Netanyahu’s critics have sought to draw a clear line between the cases and the war in Gaza. They say the allegations led Netanyahu to promote a contentious judicial overhaul plan last year that bitterly divided the country and created an image of weakness that encouraged the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war.
Netanyahu’s critics, including families of hostages held by Hamas, now accuse him of dragging out the conflict — and risking the lives of their loved ones — to avoid an embarrassing investigation and new elections that could force him from power.
If he is eventually voted out of power, being away from the prime minister’s seat would make it harder for Netanyahu to rail against the justice system and delegitimize the verdict in the eyes of the public.
A verdict isn’t expected until 2026 — at least — and then Netanyahu can choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Israel’s courts are notoriously sluggish, and the case was further delayed last year when courts went on hiatus for two months after war broke out following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Once the defense rests, each side will summarize their cases before judges convene to deliberate over Netanyahu’s fate.


UN Security Council backs Lebanon’s efforts to assert sovereignty, calls for global support of army

UN Security Council backs Lebanon’s efforts to assert sovereignty, calls for global support of army
Updated 17 October 2025

UN Security Council backs Lebanon’s efforts to assert sovereignty, calls for global support of army

UN Security Council backs Lebanon’s efforts to assert sovereignty, calls for global support of army
  • Council members offer unanimous support for UN Interim Force in Lebanon and urge all sides to take ‘all necessary measures’ to guarantee safety of the peacekeepers
  • Spokesperson for UN secretary-general says peacekeepers in southern Lebanon report violations of UN resolutions, including unauthorized weapon caches

NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council on Friday expressed its strong support for Lebanese authorities in their efforts to assert sovereignty over their entire territory, and called on international community to step up the assistance it provides to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
It comes as UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon report violations of UN resolutions, including the discovery of unauthorized weapon caches.
In a unanimous statement, the 15 members of the Security Council welcomed the Lebanese government’s commitment to the extension of state authority across the country through the deployment of the army, and said no authority should be recognized other than that of the government.
They also called for increased international backing to ensure the “effective and sustainable deployment” of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River, a region in which tensions with neighboring Israel have frequently flared.
Members reiterated their full support for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and urged all sides in the country to take “all necessary measures” to guarantee the safety of the peacekeepers and their facilities. “Peacekeepers must never be targeted by attack,” they said.
The council called on all parties to honor their commitments under the Nov. 26, 2024, cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, and to adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law by ensuring the protection of civilians.
Welcoming the stated willingness of Beirut to delineate and demarcate its border with Syria, and its efforts to curb cross-border smuggling, council members called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559, which address the disarmament of non-state militias and the authority of the Lebanese state.
Also on Friday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, have been monitoring and reporting violations of resolution 1701, including unauthorized weapon caches, in their area of operations.
“On Thursday, mortar shells were found in Sector West, while on Tuesday, a joint patrol with the Lebanese army discovered damaged rockets and their launchers in Sector East,” he said.
“UNIFIL also continues to observe Israel Defense Forces military activities in the area of operations, including on Wednesday, where mortar fire from south of the Blue Line was detected, impacting near Yaroun in Sector West.”
The Blue Line is a line of demarcation separating Israel and Lebanon set by the UN in 2000 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
“Also on Wednesday, in Sarda in Sector East, IDF soldiers pointed infrared lasers at UNIFIL patrol vehicles,” Dujarric said. “We once again stress these acts of interference must stop.
“Meanwhile, UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force conducted training this week with Lebanese Navy personnel aboard a Maritime Task Force vessel. Separately, peacekeepers in Sector East trained with Lebanese army personnel to address threats posed by explosive remnants of war.”


Hamas aims to keep grip on Gaza security and can’t commit to disarm, senior official says

Hamas aims to keep grip on Gaza security and can’t commit to disarm, senior official says
Updated 17 October 2025

Hamas aims to keep grip on Gaza security and can’t commit to disarm, senior official says

Hamas aims to keep grip on Gaza security and can’t commit to disarm, senior official says
  • Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza
  • They point to big gaps between Hamas’ positions and US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza

DOHA: Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, a senior Hamas official told Reuters, adding he could not commit to the group disarming — positions that reflect the difficulties facing US plans to secure an end to the war.
Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with guarantees for what happens afterwards depending on Palestinians being given “horizons and hope” for statehood.
Speaking to Reuters in an interview from Doha, where Hamas politicians have long resided, Nazzal defended the group’s crackdown in Gaza, where it carried out public executions on Monday. There were always “exceptional measures” during war and those executed were criminals guilty of killing, he said.

PRESSURE TO DISARM
While Hamas has broadly expressed these views before, the timing of Nazzal’s comments demonstrates the major obstacles obstructing efforts to cement a full end to the war in Gaza, days after the first phase of the ceasefire was agreed.
They point to big gaps between Hamas’ positions and US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, ahead of negotiations expected to address Hamas’ weapons and how Gaza is governed.
Asked for comment on Nazzal’s remarks, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel was committed to the ceasefire agreement and continued to uphold and fulfil its side of the plan.
“Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time,” it said in a statement to Reuters.
Trump’s September 29 plan called for Hamas to immediately return all hostages before committing to disarmament and ceding governance of Gaza to a technocratic committee overseen by an international transitional body.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported the plan, saying it would dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted another 251 during the October 7 attacks on Israel that triggered the war, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military response killed nearly 68,000 people in Gaza, according to local authorities. Pummelled by Israel in the war, the Palestinian Islamist group is under intense pressure to disarm and surrender control of Gaza or risk a resumption of the conflict.
Asked if Hamas would give up its arms, Nazzal, speaking on Wednesday, said: “I can’t answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you’re talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?“
He added that issues to be discussed in the next phase of negotiations, including weapons, concerned not only Hamas but other armed Palestinian groups, and would require Palestinians more broadly to reach a position.
Asked for its response to Nazzal’s remarks, the White House directed Reuters to comments by Trump on Thursday.
“We have a commitment from them and I assume they’re going to honor their commitment,” Trump said, noting that Hamas had returned more bodies but without elaborating on the issue of it disarming or its interim presence on the ground. Nazzal also said the group had no interest in keeping the remaining bodies of deceased hostages seized in the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Hamas has handed over at least nine out of 28 bodies. It was encountering technical problems recovering more, he said, adding that international parties such as Turkiye or the US would help search if needed.
A senior Turkish official said last week that Turkiye would take part in a joint task force along with Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt to locate the bodies. Hamas agreed on October 4 to release the hostages and hand over governance to a technocratic committee, but said other matters needed to be addressed within a wider Palestinian framework. It released all living hostages on Monday.
Nazzal said the phase two negotiations would begin soon.

GOALS OF ELECTIONS, ‘HOPE’ FOR PALESTINIANS
On Tuesday, Trump said he had communicated to Hamas that it must disarm or it would be forced to. Trump has also suggested Hamas was given temporary approval for internal security operations in Gaza, and has endorsed Hamas killing members of gangs.
Noting Trump’s remarks, Nazzal said there was an understanding regarding Hamas’ presence on the ground, without specifying among whom, indicating it was necessary to protect aid trucks from thieves and armed gangs.
“This is a transitional phase. Civilly, there will be a technocratic administration as I said. On the ground, Hamas will be present,” he said. After the transitional phase, there should be elections, he said. Nazzal said mediators had not discussed with the group an international stabilization force for Gaza, which was proposed in Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Hamas’ founding charter called for the destruction of Israel, although the group’s leaders have at times offered a long-term truce with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
Israel regards this position as a ruse.
Nazzal said Hamas had suggested a long-term truce in meetings with US officials, and wanted a truce of at least three to five years to rebuild the Gaza Strip. “The goal isn’t to prepare for a future war.”
Beyond that period, guarantees for the future would require states to “provide horizons and hope for the Palestinian people,” he said.
“The Palestinian people want an independent Palestinian state,” he added.


UN rights chief urges rights-focused Gaza reconstruction as Palestinian FM presses EU on ceasefire

UN rights chief urges rights-focused Gaza reconstruction as Palestinian FM presses EU on ceasefire
Updated 17 October 2025

UN rights chief urges rights-focused Gaza reconstruction as Palestinian FM presses EU on ceasefire

UN rights chief urges rights-focused Gaza reconstruction as Palestinian FM presses EU on ceasefire

GENEVA: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday urged all parties to place human rights at the center of efforts to rebuild Gaza and establish a lasting peace, emphasizing that the ongoing ceasefire should serve as a foundation for sustainable security and stability.

Volker Turk said that while there was widespread relief at signs of an end to the war and humanitarian suffering, significant work remained to ensure lasting peace, justice and accountability for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law over the past two years.

He called for the full inclusion of all Palestinians in decision-making processes, regardless of age, gender or disability, and for the restoration of access to food, clean water, housing, medical care and education, alongside the protection of children’s rights to play and safety.

Turk also stressed that human rights must guide political efforts and the pursuit of a two-state solution in line with UN Security Council resolutions, General Assembly mandates, Human Rights Council recommendations, the New York Declaration and relevant International Court of Justice advisory opinions.

He underscored the importance of unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, international staff, journalists, protection workers and human rights observers, ensuring that they can operate freely throughout Gaza.

Also on Friday, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Aghabekian met EU policy advisers on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Naples.

She emphasized the need for the EU to take concrete measures to safeguard the Gaza ceasefire’s continuation, including strict monitoring of its implementation and preventing violations by Israeli forces.

Aghabekian also called for the US peace plan to align with the New York Declaration to advance a two-state solution and preserve Palestinian territorial unity.

She urged signatory countries, including EU member states, to take practical steps to implement the declaration’s provisions and support a just, lasting peace grounded in human rights and accountability.


UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes
Updated 17 October 2025

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes
  • “Unless there is compelling evidence that those civilian objects have dual (military) objectives... the strikes are illegal,” said Tidball-Binz
  • “The killings resulting from the attacks violate the right to life “

BEIRUT: A United Nations special rapporteur told AFP on Friday that deadly Israeli strikes on ostensibly civilian vehicles in Lebanon since last year’s ceasefire could amount to war crimes, despite Israel’s assertion they targeted Hezbollah members.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon in spite of the November 2024 truce, which sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group that culminated in two months of open war.
The Israeli military usually says it targeted Hezbollah operatives or infrastructure with its strikes, dozens of which have killed people traveling on Lebanese roads in cars and on motorbikes, or occasionally using excavators.
“Unless there is compelling evidence that those civilian objects have dual (military) objectives... the strikes are illegal,” said Morris Tidball-Binz, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
“The killings resulting from the attacks violate the right to life and also the principles of precaution and proportionality and, in my opinion, also amount to war crimes,” he told AFP in a written statement.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency on Friday reported unspecified casualties in an Israeli strike targeting a car in the country’s south.
And on Thursday, some of the heaviest Israeli raids since the ceasefire hit south Lebanon, with the health ministry saying one person was killed and seven others wounded.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and facilities used by an NGO under US sanctions that Israel considers a cover for the militant group.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strikes targeted civilian facilities, condemning a ceasefire violation and “a systematic policy aimed at destroying productive infrastructure” and hindering the country’s recovery.
The south Lebanon water establishment said Friday the raids had completely destroyed its strategic fuel depot.
The stricken facility “contained half a million liters of fuel oil” used to operate electricity generators for water stations and wells, it said in a statement.
At a heavily damaged cement factory, sales manager Ali Khalifeh told AFP that “we are a 100 percent civilian complex.”
He said more than a dozen air strikes hit the site, which “produces asphalt and concrete. It’s one of the biggest asphalt mixers in Lebanon.”
An AFP correspondent overnight saw firefighters battling a huge blaze at the factory.
“We had a huge quantity of liquid tar,” Khalifeh said, adding: “That’s what blew up, in addition to the fuel oil and the diesel” and other fuel.
Last week, Israeli strikes targeted bulldozer and excavator yards in south Lebanon’s Al-Msayleh area, destroying more than 300 pieces of machinery.


Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq
Updated 17 October 2025

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq
  • Declining freshwater flows have raised salt and pollution levels, particularly further south where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge before spilling into the Gulf
  • Last month, salinity levels recorded in central Basra province soared to around 29,000 parts per million compared to 2,600 ppm last year, according to a report from the ministry

BASRA: Iraqi farmer Umm Ali has watched her poultry die as salinity levels in the country’s south hit record highs, rendering already scarce water unfit for human consumption and killing livestock.
“We used to drink, wash and cook with water from the river, but now it’s hurting us,” said Umm Ali, 40, who lives in the once watery Al-Mashab marshes of southern Iraq’s Basra province.
This season alone, she said brackish water has killed dozens of her ducks and 15 chickens.
“I cried and grieved, I felt as if all my hard work had been wasted,” said the widowed mother of three.
Iraq, a country heavily impacted by climate change, has been ravaged for years by drought and low rainfall.
Declining freshwater flows have raised salt and pollution levels, particularly further south where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge before spilling into the Gulf.
“We haven’t seen such high levels of salinity in 89 years,” Iraq’s water ministry spokesman Khaled Shamal said.
Last month, salinity levels recorded in central Basra province soared to around 29,000 parts per million compared to 2,600 ppm last year, according to a report from the ministry.
Freshwater should contain less than 1,000 ppm of dissolved salts, while ocean water salinity levels are around 35,000 ppm, according to the US Geological Survey.

- Dead buffalo -

The Tigris and Euphrates converge at Basra’s Shatt Al-Arab waterway “laden with pollutants accumulated along their course,” said Hasan Al-Khateeb, an expert from Iraq’s University of Kufa.
In recent weeks, the Euphrates has seen its lowest water levels in decades, and Iraq’s artificial lake reserves are at their lowest in recent history.
Khateeb warned that the Shatt Al-Arab’s water levels had plummeted and it was failing to hold back the seawater from the Gulf.
Farmer Zulaykha Hashem, 60, said the water in the area had become very brackish this year, adding that she has to wait for the situation to improve in order to irrigate her crop of pomegranate trees, figs and berries.
According to the United Nations, almost a quarter of women in Basra and nearby provinces work in agriculture.
“We cannot even leave. Where would we go?” Hashem said, in a country where farmers facing drought and rising salinity often find themselves trapped in a cycle of water crisis.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration, which documents climate-induced displacement in Iraq, has warned that increased water salinity is destroying palm groves, citrus trees and other crops.
As of October last year, some 170,000 people were displaced in central and southern Iraq due to climate-related factors, according to the agency.
Water scarcity pushed Maryam Salman, who is in her 30s, to leave nearby Missan province for Basra several years ago, hoping her buffalo could enjoy the Shatt Al-Arab.
Near her house, AFP saw three buffalo skeletons on the parched land, with locals saying the animals had died due to lack of water.
Rising salinity is not the only problem now, said Salman, a mother of three children.=
“Water is not available... neither summer nor winter,” she said.

- Fewer fish -

The Tigris and Euphrates originate in Turkiye, and Iraqi authorities have repeatedly blamed dams across the border for significantly reducing their flows.
Iraq receives less than 35 percent of its allocated share of water from the two rivers, according to authorities, in a country with inefficient water management systems after decades of war and neglect.
Khateeb from the University of Kufa said that in addition to claiming its share of the rivers, Iraq must pursue desalination projects in the Shatt Al-Arab.
In July, the government announced a desalination project in Basra with a capacity of one million cubic meters per day.
Local residents said the brackish water was also impacting fish stocks.
Hamdiyah Mehdi said her husband, who is a fisherman, returns home empty-handed more frequently.
She blamed the Shatt Al-Arab’s “murky and salty water” for his short temper after long days without a catch, and for her children’s persistent rash.
“It has been tough,” said Mehdi, 52, noting the emotional toll on the family as well as on their health and livelihood.
“We take our frustrations out on each other.”