Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan began his testimony in the corruption trial of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, in a court session that was broadcast live from an English seaside town direct to Israel.
The trial is being held in Jerusalem but Mr Milchan's testimony was taking place in Brighton at the request of the prosecution, which is close to where the 78-year-old is presently based. The testimony is expected to last several days.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Netanyahu wrongfully received almost 700,000 shekels (about $200,000) worth of gifts from Mr Milchan and an Australian billionaire. The indictment describes the gifts as a “supply line” of champagne and cigars.
The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing in the case and two other cases that are being heard in the same trial.
Mr Netanyahu is accused of helping Mr Milchan with his business interests and with his US visa status. The prime minister has described the gift-giving as normal conduct among friends, branding his trial a political witch-hunt.
Mr Milchan hinted at a deeper, patriotic cast to the relationship. “I can't tell you how many things Bibi and I did in secret for the country,” he said in his testimony, using Mr Netanyahu's nickname.
When the prime minister arrived at the Jerusalem court to watch the testimony, Mr Milchan greeted him off-screen with “Shalom, Bibi!”
Criminal probes against Mr Netanyahu, now in a record sixth term as premier, began in 2016 and set off years of political turmoil in Israel.
He has been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust for allegedly granting regulatory favours to businessmen in return for positive favourable media coverage.
After a cycle of inconclusive elections and an 18-month-stint in the opposition, Mr Netanyahu returned to power in December at the head of a hard-right government.
He has denied any link between his trial and reforms to the justice system that his coalition is seeking. The proposals have drawn strong opposition.
Israeli legislators on Sunday began debating a new bill on the proposed reforms after a pause called by Mr Netanyahu to allow compromise talks with opposition parties. The Prime Minister declared those talks fruitless last week and ordered some of the legislation to be revived.
The proposed changes, which included curbs on the Supreme Court's ability to rule against the government, had sparked nationwide protests that prompted Mr Netanyahu to suspend efforts to pass them into law.
Coalition lawmakers have indicated that the new bill would be a far softer version of previous proposals that had sought to almost totally roll back the Supreme Court's power to rule against the executive.
The opposition, however, says the new bill would still open the door to corruption.
“You are renewing a legislation blitz meant to destroy the justice system's independence and badly hurt Israeli democracy's delicate checks and balances,” Labour lawmaker Gilad Kariv said as the debate began.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Mr Netanyahu to stop the legislation and revive negotiations “until we reach agreements that will safeguard democracy and prevent a national disaster”, in a statement posted on Twitter.
The coalition says its goal is to balance the powers of the government, legislature and judiciary by reining in a Supreme Court they see as too interventionist
