Netanyahu knocks Obama, John Kerry in first appearance at corruption trial

In his first appearance in court for corruption charges, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid bare his stark disagreements with former President Barack Obama over Iran and a Palestinian state. 

"Obama made it clear to me that U.S. policy was going to take a sharp turn against the ideas I believed in," Netanyahu recounted of his interactions with the U.S. in the early days of the Obama administration. 

"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."

Netanyahu took the stand for about four hours Tuesday morning in Tel Aviv District Court. The trial was moved from Jerusalem for undisclosed security reasons and convened in an underground courtroom, according to Reuters. He recalled his rocky relationship with Obama – how they failed to see eye to eye on an appropriate course of action for Palestinians.

"I had to face great pressure to create a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said. "[Obama] demanded it during the first meeting, he said: 'Not even one brick will you build over the Green Line.' I responded: 'Half of Jerusalem is over the Green Line; for instance, the Gilo neighborhood.' Obama said: 'Gilo too.' He demanded a total construction freeze, massive pressure. I had to deal with this, I had to deflect it, and it was no small matter."

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Netanyahu called to mind a disagreement with then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who was urging Israeli forces to withdraw from Judea and Samaria. 

"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." 

He also said Obama had recommended Israel take notes from the U.S. policy in Afghanistan, and Netanyahu predicted it would not age well. 

"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."

The corruption trial, which stems from a 2019 indictment for alleged breach of trust, accepting bribes and fraud, takes place against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas. Netanyahu must attend court three times a week while it is ongoing. 

Netanyahu, 75, is the first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. 

The charges include: accepting gifts from Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan in exchange for advancing his interests, failing to report a bribery attempt from newspaper "Yediot Aharonot" publisher Arnon Mozes, who wanted Netanyahu to allow a bill outlawing free newspapers to pass and offered him favorable coverage in exchange, and accepting an offer in which Shaul Elovitch, the owner of Israeli telecom conglomerate Bezeq, would grant Netanyahu favorable media coverage in exchange for favorable regulatory changes. 

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Netanyahu said he is not in office for personal gain, and directly responded to allegations he asked for a constant supply of luxury items like champagne and cigars. 

"Absolute lies," he said. "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," Netanyahu said, adding that his rare leisure time is spent reading history or economics books. 

The prime minister argued that if he had been concerned about better media coverage, he could have just moved toward granting Palestinians statehood.

"Had I wanted good coverage, all I would have had to have done would be to signal toward a two-state solution… Had I moved two steps to the left I would have been hailed," he said. 

The court had been granting Netanyahu delays in his testimony throughout the 14-month-long war in Gaza, but last week ruled he must start testifying. In the lead-up to his court date, Netanyahu classified the charges against him as a witch hunt and railed against law enforcement and the media. 

"The real threat to democracy in Israel is not posed by the public’s elected representatives, but by some among the law enforcement authorities who refuse to accept the voters’ choice and are trying to carry out a coup with rabid political investigations that are unacceptable in any democracy," he said in a statement on Thursday.

"Netanyahu is on trial for allegedly using his political power to improve his media coverage. His defense: the coverage was not positive but hostile, and I did not attempt to change it for the benefit of Netanyahu the citizen but for the benefit of the State of Israel in response to Obama’s hostile stance," Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Israel's Channel 12, told Fox News Digital of the prime minister's testimony.