Israeli protesters gather around Supreme Court demanding fresh probe against Netanyahu

On Wednesday, October 14, hundreds of Israeli protesters gathered near the Supreme Court demanding investigations into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a defence scandal. As per reports, Netanyahu has been linked to a graft scandal that involves the purchase of warships and submarines from German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp. Although the 70-year-old Leader has been questioned but yet not named as a suspect in the case, reports add.

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Protesters arrive in convoys

As per reports, demonstrators arrived mostly in cars that carried makeshift submarines on top of their vehicles. All of them travelled in convoys from north of the country to Jerusalem where the trial was being heard.

As per reports, the graft deal involves Netanyahu making a purchase worth $2 billion dollars. In the latest case related development, Dan Halutz, a former military chief of staff, is reported to have accused Netanyahu of hiding relevant information from defence officials while making the submarine deal with Germany.

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Netanyahu is already under trial for corruption charges. The Israeli leader’s trial formally opened in May 2019 at a Jerusalem district court where he denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges against him.  

As per reports, the trials have been postponed till January next year with witnesses being heard three times a week. Netanyahu, who is accused of bribing media and favouring business tycoons, is the first-ever Israeli Prime Minister to go under trial while serving a term. in recent weeks, public outrage against him has intensified, fuelled by his bad handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Israel is under a second nationwide lockdown amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. It has now become one of the worst affected countries in the world in terms of the caseload. The Israeli administration has been criticised for its back and forth responses to the pandemic.

Read: Israel Eases Some Lockdown Measures As Virus Cases Decline

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Image Credits: AP