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@WSJPoliticsPresident Trump wants Israel to call off the Netanyahu trial, but it isn’t his country.
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Trump Pressures Israel to Drop Netanyahu Corruption Trial, Threatens Aid
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U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Israel to cancel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial or grant him a pardon, branding the proceedings a “political witch hunt.” The first appeal appeared on June 25 and was amplified over the following days, marking an unusual intervention by a U.S. leader in another country’s judicial affairs.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust involving gifts worth more than $260,000 and alleged efforts to secure favourable media coverage. The trial, which began in May 2020, was due to resume Monday after the Jerusalem District Court on June 27 rejected the premier’s request for a two-week postponement.
Over the weekend Trump escalated his rhetoric, linking his demand to the billions of dollars in annual U.S. military assistance Israel receives and warning that Washington is “not going to stand for this.” He argued the court schedule could derail Netanyahu’s negotiations with Hamas and Iran in the wake of this month’s Israel-Iran cease-fire.
Netanyahu publicly thanked Trump, while opposition leader Yair Lapid said foreign powers should not meddle in Israel’s legal system. Prosecutors declined comment. Late Sunday the Jerusalem court unexpectedly cancelled this week’s hearings, prolonging uncertainty around a case already delayed by war and political turmoil.
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