The global media descended on Jerusalem on Sunday to cover the opening of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial. The main media focus worldwide, however, remained the coronavirus pandemic and the renewal of protests in Hong Kong.
Oren Liebermann, the Jerusalem correspondent for CNN, reported live from the vicinity of the courthouse and tried explaining Netanyahu's various indictments to his viewers. In his words, Sunday was a "significant" day in the annals of Israeli history. The correspondent from Sky News noted that Netanyahu was considered a "magician" in Israeli politics and could still pull a rabbit out of his hat to extricate himself from his legal predicament. The Bloomberg website highlighted the prime minister's claims with the headline: "Netanyahu Alleges Overthrow Attempt at Start of Graft Trial."
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The New York Times' headline ran the following headline: "Netanyahu Corruption Trial Begins, Taking Israel Into Uncharted Territory." The story itself said, "One thing still threatens to end Mr. Netanyahu's career as Israel's longest-serving prime minister: his trial on felony corruption charges... The prime minister's trial is expected to last a year or more, with the first witnesses not expected to testify for months."
The Fox News website didn't report on the trial on Sunday, rather ran a story from Saturday.
The British Sunday Times said, "Netanyahu runs out of options and steps into the dock."
"Surrounded by bodyguards, [Benjamin] Netanyahu will enter a Jerusalem court through a back door this afternoon to take his place on the bench where the accused sit. This is the moment he fought for years to prevent, but is finally here," the article said.
According to the Washington Post, "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat alone on a courtroom bench Sunday as a three-judge panel heard arguments in the mostly procedural opening session of his long-awaited criminal trial."
Qatar's Al-Jazeera also highlighted Netanyahu's argument that the trial was an attempt to "depose a strong PM."
Turkish news agency Anadolu noted that "the Israeli and international media were out in full force to cover the event."
"Israeli prime minister faces Jerusalem court," the BBC's headline read, with a rundown of the cases in which Netanyahu is charged.
Spain's popular daily El Pais ran the headline "Netanyahu challenges the court at the start of his corruption trial," referring to the speech given by the prime minister, in which he claimed the investigations against him "were tainted and stitched-up."
