��������Ƶ

For more than four years, since the beginning of his corruption trial on three cases of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, there was great anticipation for the moment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would stand in the witness box and give his version of events under oath. Three weeks ago, that moment finally arrived and, predictably, there was no moment of epiphany for Netanyahu and no admission of the charges laid against him. There was not a hint of remorse, no sign of reflection and no acceptance that he could have done certain things better or differently.

Instead, it was the familiar and defiant Netanyahu: always evasive, always the victim and never in the wrong, while always shifting the blame onto others — on this occasion, including his wife Sara. His behavior in court showed clear signs of narcissism, which is usually characterized by a constant oscillation from hero to victim mode.

The hero complex in him cannot understand why he finds himself in this situation while he is busy with a historic mission to defeat the enemies of Israel and its people, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, while single-handedly reshaping the entire Middle East. At the same time, he is the victim of his political opponents, the justice system and, generally, the “deep state,” who are conspiring to bring him down. Hence, for him, any move is legitimate if it helps to derail this unprecedented trial.

To be sure, what is being discussed in court is the legality of Netanyahu’s actions, not his morality or ethics, and it is for the judges to decide whether or not Netanyahu has broken the law, as the prosecution hotly contends. However, we are still entitled to express utter disgust at his behavior, which has already demonstrated that he has not a moral bone in his body, and stupendous lack of judgment that makes him entirely unsuitable to be in any position of influence, let alone leading the country.

We are entitled to express utter disgust at his behavior and stupendous lack of judgment

Yossi Mekelberg

After all, even he and his lawyers do not deny, for instance, that he received expensive cigars, Champagne and jewelry from the Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and the multimillionaire businessman James Packer. There is also hardly any dispute over whether Netanyahu discussed with John Kerry, then US secretary of state, the American visa status of Milchan, whom he likes to refer to as his “friend,” although it seems more of a transactional relationship than a friendship, while receiving presents from him.

If this is not a case of bribery, it is at least very murky, as few Israelis enjoy the privilege of the prime minister discussing their visa predicament with officials at the very top of the political pyramid. If he would not admit illegality, Netanyahu could have at least acknowledged inappropriate favoritism, but he did not.

The Netanyahus — Benjamin, Sara and their eldest son Yair — are also known for being obsessed with the media and everything reported about them. Nevertheless, in his evidence in court, Netanyahu was dismissive of the charge that he was wheeler-dealing with media proprietors and offering a relaxation of regulations that would financially considerably benefit them, should they ensure more favorable coverage of himself and his family.

However, in court, Netanyahu played down the importance of at least one media outlet, a news website called Walla, and the claim that he had a corrupt relationship with its owners. Instead, in a less-than-convincing argument, he portrayed himself as a knight in shining armor dedicated to the cause of balancing a lefty-progressive media by encouraging the creation of more right-wing outlets to ensure that Israel’s public can enjoy a wider spectrum of opinion.

No one in Israeli politics has been more obsessed with how they are portrayed by the media than the Netanyahus

Yossi Mekelberg

No one in Israeli politics has been more obsessed with how they are portrayed by the media, new and old, than the Netanyahus. And for years they have been building an alternative media machine, not to widen the scope of the social and political discourse but to glorify themselves and smear their opponents.

To add to the bizarre saga of the Netanyahu family’s mission to remain in power indefinitely and obstruct the trial of the head of the family, all of a sudden Sara has seen fit to join their son’s self-imposed exile in Miami. So, she is staying thousands of miles away while her husband not only faces scrutiny in a trial that might lead him to a lengthy period behind bars, but when he has also recently undergone major surgery.

This seems rather convenient, considering Netanyahu’s suggestion in court that many of the requests for presents, or for the media to soften their criticism and sing the Netanyahus’ praises, originated from his wife. Evidently, there is a disturbing dynamic between Benjamin and Sara and, according to allegations in a recent episode of investigative program “Uvda,” it was the latter who was orchestrating the intimidation of a key witness in the corruption case against her husband and harassing the lead prosecutor in this case. This led Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman to open an investigation into these allegations.

Netanyahu’s trial is a source of national embarrassment, especially in the middle of the most consequential crisis in the country’s history, when Israel is embroiled in a war that has caused extreme suffering. The country has become hostage to a corruption affair that has now lasted more than eight years. Netanyahu and his lawyers have tried every trick in the book to prevent indictment and, when they failed to do so, the gates of hell were opened for the weakening of the judiciary, the smearing of the prosecution and its witnesses and, in recent months, the attempts to postpone Netanyahu’s appearance in the witness box.

And now that he has finally begun to give evidence, he has been repeatedly interrupting the procedure with claims that the process must be halted while he attends to important state business, only for it to emerge that on one occasion, for example, he went on a PR tour of newly occupied Syrian territory.

If we have learned anything from the first few weeks of Netanyahu’s evidence in court, it is that he is ready to continue to abuse power to ensure that his trial is never concluded and that his attacks on the gatekeepers of the democratic system will only further escalate as the evidence mounts against him. It is therefore for the judges to end the Netanyahu circus and accelerate the trial’s progress toward a conclusion.

• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg