Outside court, Ben Gvir slams ‘campaign of persecution’ against Netanyahu

Speaking to reporters outside the Tel Aviv courthouse where Benjamin Netanyahu is soon slated to begin testifying in his ongoing criminal trial, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares that he is there to support the prime minister, who is suffering from a “campaign of persecution against him.”

Claiming that the charges against Netanyahu are fabricated, Ben Gvir says it is not enough merely to speak out, and calls on his fellow ministers to raise a proposal to fire Attorney General Gali-Baharav Miara at the next cabinet meeting.

“I say something very simple: It is clear to everyone that she is fabricating cases,” he says. “I have been demanding her dismissal for over a year, and I say again, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, to all my friends in the Likud and in the right-wing government, I love and appreciate you, but it is time to bring this to a government decision!”

Culture Minister Miki Zohar appears to imply that Netanyahu’s ongoing trial endangers the hostages held in Gaza in a statement released ahead of the start of the premier’s testimony in his ongoing corruption case.

“The Middle East is undergoing historic changes with dramatic implications for Israel’s security. We are on the verge of a critical deal to free our brothers and sisters who are languishing in Hamas captivity and Israel is in the middle of a war on seven simultaneous fronts,” Zohar says in a statement.

“Why does the legal system insist on dragging the prime minister, who is leading the campaign, into long hours of testimony precisely now?” he asks, calling it “an absurd and illogical decision by any standard.”

Netanyahu should be allowed to run the war without distraction and “there will be time for everything else later,” he asserts.