Israel’s Netanyahu decries ‘absurd’ charges at corruption trial appearance

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the stand for the first time in his long-running corruption trial, rejecting what he described as “absurd” allegations against him. Appearing at a crowded courtroom in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the embattled Israeli leader said the charges levelled against him were an “an ocean of absurdity”. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He took the stand for about four hours and will resume testifying on Wednesday. His military secretary twice handed him written messages, the first time requiring a recess and underscoring his having to do double duty as prime minister. He attacked the Israeli media for what he called its leftist stance and accused journalists of having hounded him for years because his policies did not align with a push for a Palestinian state. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reports from Amman. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Israel #BenjaminNetanyahu #Netanyahu #NetanyahuCorruptionTrial #Fraud #BreachOfTrust #Bribery #Case1000 #GiftsAffair #Case2000 #Case4000 #AlJazeeraEnglish