Netanyahu accused of exploiting coronavirus to delay corruption trial
Israeli PM rushed through emergency measures which led to postponement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of exploiting the coronavirus to postpone his upcoming corruption trial.
The hearing is being delayed by more than two months because of new restrictions introduced to contain the coronavirus.
Many have pointed out that the restrictions - including bans on gatherings of more than 10 people in public places - had been announced by Netanyahu himself.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Netanyahu, who lost in the September 2019 Israeli election, has also called for a national emergency government to deal with the impact of the epidemic.
The controversial Israeli leader was facing charges of receiving expensive gifts from wealthy friends and offering to exchange favours with powerful media moguls. He denies any wrongdoing and insists he is the victim of a media-orchestrated witch hunt.
However, he has been accused of exploiting the outbreak for “personal political needs”, by opposition MP Moshe Ya’alon.
“Whoever criticized us for warning we would turn into Erdogan’s Turkey should digest and internalize the cynical exploitation of the coronavirus, for personal political needs, by a defendant before his trial,” Ya’alon wrote on Twitter.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Netanyahu has said that a government of national unity should be formed, including all of the parties in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. As CNN highlights, the call to unite does not extend to “the Arab parties”.
“In light of the world and national crisis, we have to unite our strength and form a strong and stable government that can pass a budget and take tough decisions,” Netanyahu said.
Supporters of the prime minister are massing around him, CNN reports, as they “see him as uniquely qualified to lead the country in this time of need”.
“To them, the coronavirus is one more challenge Netanyahu is sure to overcome,” the broadcaster adds.
This is echoed by Middle East Eye, which reports that “Benjamin Netanyahu will go down in history as the one human being saved by coronavirus”.
“The virus that attacks the respiratory system serves for now as Netanyahu’s respiratory machine”, the news site says. The pandemic is providing “the necessary amount of oxygen [for him to] remain in office and out of the courtroom”, it adds.
However, Ben Caspit, author of The Netanyahu Years, told CNN that it is “impossible to disconnect his call for an ‘emergency government’ or a ‘unity government’ from the fact that he failed once again to muster a majority”.
Caspit, a longstanding critic of the Israeli prime minister, added that Netanyahu has “thrice been unsuccessful in his bid to get reelected... [but] refuses to hand over the reins.
He added that Netanyahu is now “exploiting a national crisis to retain his grip on power”.
On Sunday, Israel’s president announced that opposition leader Benny Gantz, of the Blue and White party, had received enough support from lawmakers to attempt to form his own government.
Gantz has since slammed Netanyahu’s manoeuvring, writing on Twitter: “Netanyahu, let's not manipulate the public. If you're interested in unity, why postpone your trial at 1 a.m. and send an ‘emergency unity’ outline to the press, rather than sending your negotiating team to a meeting.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - papal ideas, high-powered debates, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
The #MeToo movements around the world
The Explainer French men have been sharing stories of abuse in the latest calling out of sexual assault and harassment
By The Week Staff Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
How the idyllic Galapagos Islands became staging post in world drug trade
Under the radar Ecuador's crackdown on gang violence forces drug traffickers into Pacific routes to meet cocaine demand
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Armed gangs, prison breaks and on-air hostages: how Ecuador was plunged into crisis
The Explainer Gangs launch deadly revenge after president declares state of emergency following escape of feared drug boss from prison
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ecuador tips toward chaos amid prison breaks, armed TV takeover
Speed Read New President Daniel Noboa authorized the military to 'neutralize' powerful drug-linked gangs after they unleashed violence and terror across Ecuador
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Prague shooting: student kills 14 people at university
Speed reads Police believe suspect, who killed himself, may have shot his father before carrying out mass murder
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published