News24 | ‘We are not going to stand for this’: Trump demands Israel drops ‘witch hunt’ case against Netanyahu

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a visit to the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

• Donald Trump demanded that Israel drop its corruption case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Trump hinted that the US would tie the case to US aid to Israel.
• Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favours.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to “stand for this”.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies.

The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases.

“It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that the judicial process was going to interfere with Netanyahu’s ability to conduct talks with Palestinian militants Hamas, and Iran.

Trump’s second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel’s legal action to US aid.

“The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” Trump said.

READ | Trump demands Israel pardons ‘great hero’ Netanyahu, or abandons corruption case against him

Netanyahu “right now” was in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas, Trump said, without giving further details.

On Friday, the Republican president told reporters that he believed a ceasefire is close.

Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.

Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week.

AFP reported that an Israeli court on Friday rejected Netanyahu’s request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, ruling that he had not provided adequate justification for his request.

In one case, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has thanked Trump for his support in Israel’s war with Iran, which saw a ceasefire agreement earlier this week.

His lawyer had asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needs to concentrate on “security issues”.

Trump on Wednesday sprung to Netanyahu’s defence, describing the case against him as a “witch hunt”.

On Saturday, he described Netanyahu as a “War Hero” and said the case would distract the prime minister from negotiations with Iran and with Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian armed group that Israel is at war with.

“This travesty of ‘Justice’ will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations,” said Trump, although it was unclear what negotiations he was referring to with regard to Iran.

The US leader also likened Netanyahu’s legal troubles to his own before he took office for his second term.

“It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure,” said Trump.

The Republican was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024 in a case related to hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump also faced two federal cases, one related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.