Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand Tuesday in his long-running corruption trial, revealing stark disagreements with then-President Barack Obama administration over Iran's nuclear ambitions and regional influence – disputes he described as central to his tenure during the period covered by the indictment.
In nearly three hours of testimony in the Tel Aviv District Court, Netanyahu pushed back against prosecutors' portrayal of him as a leader preoccupied with media coverage and luxury gifts. Instead, he detailed high-stakes diplomatic confrontations that he said shaped Israel's security landscape.
"Obama made it clear to me that US policy was going to take a sharp turn against the ideas I believed in," Netanyahu testified, recounting his earliest interactions with the former US president. "He saw Iran not as a threat but as an opportunity and saw a vital need for us to return to the '67 lines and establish a Palestinian state here."
The testimony offered a rare glimpse into the diplomatic tensions that marked US-Israel relations during that period. Netanyahu recounted a particularly pointed exchange with then-Secretary of State John Kerry over security arrangements in the West Bank. According to his testimony, Kerry dismissed Israeli security concerns by citing American training of Palestinian forces. "Kerry explained to me that my fear of placing security in Judea and Samaria in Palestinian forces' hands was unfounded because the Americans were training Palestinian forces and we could withdraw. Obama suggested I make a secret visit to Afghanistan to see how American forces were training local forces. I told him the moment you leave Afghanistan, these forces will collapse under Islamist forces, and that's exactly what happened."
During his testimony, Netanyahu described what he characterized as an ongoing battle with prevailing media narratives in Israel. "My positions forced me to be in constant struggle with the prevailing opinions in Israeli media and public discourse," he said. "To such an extent that they claimed Iran was just a whim – 'Netanyahu's spin.'"
Netanyahu added that he could have gained favorable media coverage by simply "moving a few steps to the left" but chose instead to maintain positions he believed were "essential to ensure our existence."
The corruption trial has taken on additional significance as it unfolds against the backdrop of Israel's war with Hamas. "A few days ago, something cataclysmic happened here," Netanyahu told the court, referring to the toppling of the regime in Syria. "It's an earthquake that hasn't occurred in a hundred years."
The court session also centered on his alleged lavish lifestyle, which allegedly violated Israel's laws against accepting gifts. "Absolute lies," Netanyahu said in response to allegations about asking for a constant supply of luxury items such as champagne and cigars. "I work 17-18 hours a day... It's around-the-clock work into the early hours of the night. There's almost no time to see family. I didn't see the children, and that's a hefty price to pay," he added, noting that his rare leisure time was spent reading history and economics books.
"I waited eight years for this moment," Netanyahu said at the outset. "To tell the truth. The truth, as I remember it, is important for justice's sake. There is no justice without truth."
Speaking about his motivation for public service, Netanyahu emphasized, "I'm not concerned with my future but with the future of the State of Israel. The mission I inherited from my grandfather, father, and brother – these are the things that have guided me."
"I'm managing a country and leading the State of Israel and the Israeli military at war," Netanyahu told the court, addressing the unusual timing. "I thought and still think that both things can be done in parallel... I believed that in the overall scheme of things, a balance could be found between the needs of the trial, which I recognize, and the needs of the state."
