Reuters —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand for the first time on Tuesday in his long-running corruption trial, saying he was being hounded for his hawkish security policies. Netanyahu, 75, is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. “I have been waiting for eight years for this moment to tell the truth,” Netanyahu told the three-judge court. In the runup to his court date, Netanyahu revived familiar pre-war rhetoric against law enforcement, describing investigations against him as a witch hunt. The shock Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Gaza war swept Netanyahu’s trial off the public agenda as Israelis came together in grief and trauma.

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Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ” Netanyahu, …, Sara, “, ”, Amit Hadad, Prosecutors, Hadad, Yoav Gallant Organizations: Reuters, Israeli, Israel’s Defense Ministry, Likud, ”, Bezeq Telecom Israel, Tel, Court, Palestinian, Criminal Court, ICC Locations: Israel, Gaza, Syria, Palestinian, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Lebanese