Netanyah calls judgment against him a coup attempt

“instead of information leak, I suggest a simple solution: let everything be transmitted to its entirety, without cutting the public short so that there will be a mirror of everything,” Netanyahu said at an entry session to the District Court in Jerusalem, Kosovo Press broadcast.

With help from you and God, I will continue to serve you (...) I will continue to lead the state of Israel and address issues that are really important,” said the prime minister, citing the start of the economy, job creation and security conservation.

Netanyah's judgment of corruption began on Sunday in a Jerusalem court with an opening hearing in which, despite the request not to appear in court today, he was due to appear after the court denied the request Wednesday.

His lawyers said in explanation of the request that there was no need for Netanyah to appear in court on Sunday just to read the indictment “whose sentences are well known to their client”.

In November, he was charged with bribery, fraud and violation of trust in three cases. He is accused, among other things, of co-operating with Israel's best selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, of adopting a law that would help media at the expense of others in exchange for better coverage of his policies.

He is also accused of providing regulatory services for the Israeli telecommunications leading company Bezhat Telecom to write positively about it at a company-owned internet portal.

Netanyah heads the national unity government after more than a year's political stalemate and parliamentary elections three times a year.

As prime minister, Netanyahu has no legal obligation to resign because of criminal procedures, and said his court battle would not affect his ability to carry out the prime minister's duties.

Planned for mid-March, the prime minister's trial was postponed on 24 May due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but facilitating isolation measures allowed schools and courts to open, and the trial could start operating.