Netanyahu trial day five: Bibi says indictment shows he's being targeted by fake allegations

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry tried to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to relinquish Israeli control of the Jordan Valley by assuring him American-backed security like in Afghanistan, Netanyahu shared at his Monday corruption trial testimony.

Netanyahu regaled the Tel Aviv District Court with a story while commenting on a Walla article that portrayed him negatively, explaining that Kerry attempted to talk to him about a peace deal with Palestinians in 2014.

"Peace doesn't bring security; security brings peace," said Netanyahu.

Kerry tried to convince Netanyahu to remove Israeli forces from the Jordan Valley, but Netanyahu expressed concern that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would enter the border region. Kerry explained that the US would ensure security in the territory.

Netanyahu revealed that Kerry had offered to organize a secret visit for Netanyahu to Afghanistan, where he could see how they had built up the government and security apparatus.

"The moment you leave, the Taliban will wipe the floor," with the American-backed Afghanistan government, Netanyahu said he had warned.

At his Monday corruption trial testimony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly insisted that he immediately leave to address government matters.

"I need to leave now," said Netanyahu before the judges approved a five-minute break in the testimony.

At his Monday corruption trial testimony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the Israeli government's need to approve business deals like the 2014 sale of Yad2 to Walla, which the prosecution claimed the leader expedited as part of a deal for positive coverage from Walla.

"It's regulatory absurdity," Netanyahu repeated in English about the need for standard business deals to be approved by the government. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at his Monday corruption trial that the indictment against him and not also ex-communication minister Gilad Erdan for the approval of Yad2's purchase by Walla indicated that he was being targeted with false allegations.

"Why didn't you indict Erdan?" said Netanyahu, arguing that Erdan was also involved in approving the 2014 business deal that the prosecution has claimed was expedited by then-Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua.

The defense reviewed contemporaneous call logs between Netanyahu and then-Walla owner Shaul Elovitch. Netanyahu said that he had called Elovitch to get his advice about Japan, India, and China.

"If I called him, it was about Japan; if he called me, it was about Yad2," said Netanyahu. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a break from his Monday corruption trial testimony after he received a note from an aide.

The judges asked him to wait until noon for a half-hour break, to which the prime minister agreed.

A business approval document benefiting Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch went through legal and professional scrutiny before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed it, the Israeli leader said at his Monday corruption trial testimony, meaning there was no reason to investigate the item.

Netanyahu argued that legal experts and bureaucrats had reviewed the document before it arrived on his desk for him to sign.

Netanyahu reiterated that he did not know what he was signing or that Elovitch would earn millions of shekels due to the approval of the document. Walla was not in his mind when he signed, and it wasn't part of a quid pro quo.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed at his Monday corruption trial testimony he didn't know what he was signing when he signed a 2014 document approving Bezeq parent B Communications' stock sales.

"At the time, I didn't understand anything; I didn't know what I was signing," Netanyahu claimed, adding that when he mixed up the document with another, "You can see I don't even understand this today."

Netanyahu explained to the judges that he couldn't scrutinize every document given to him by the Communication Ministry or aides to sign, and such a document came through the bureaucratic process and the reviews it entailed. The prime minister said that sometimes his aides or ministry representatives would draw his attention to important items, or if he had time, he would read the document headlines, but sometimes he didn't have time to review what he was signing. Such documents were of special disinterest to Netanyahu, who explained that he didn't want to interfere in the free market.

The prime minister said he didn't know that the document was important to Bezeq and Walla owner Shaul Elovitch and argued that allegations that he signed the document to benefit his co-defendant didn't match with the timeline, as during this period, there was no positive coverage of Netanyahu on Walla.

There was a brief break in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah's Monday corruption trial testimony.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at his Monday corruption trial testimony that the prosecution's arguments that he advocated for the sale of Walla to Australian tycoon James Packer contradicted those that he maintained a media bribery scheme for positive coverage on the website.

Netanyahu argued that if there was a beneficial relationship with co-defendant and Walla owner Shaul Elovitch, there was no purpose in advocating for Packer to purchase the outlet.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued at his Monday corruption trial testimony that the amount and length of calls between him and alleged media bribery scheme co-defendant Shaul Elovitch indicated that there was nothing extraordinary in their relationship.

Netanyahu counted out a list of calls in front of the court, noting that there were only about eight calls lasting several minutes from Netanyahu to Elovitch over the course of a year.

"There's nothing exceptional here," said Netanyahu.