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Netanyahu’s Human Shields: How Bibi uses Palestinians to scupper corruption trial

By Mariam Jooma Carikci

It was a moment Palestinians have been dreading – their hopes that the ceasefire would hold always tempered by Israel’s relentless history of violating agreements.  Gaza was already denied water, electricity and humanitarian aid while Israel continued assassinations on the West Bank. So, when the bombs screeched down on starving Palestinians in central Rafah, Khan Yunus, Gaza City and Deir El Balah in the early hours of this morning it only confirmed the history of treachery by the Israeli occupation. At latest count 404 people have been killed and many hundreds more injured. Of course, no attack would be complete without the signature Israeli tactic of ensuring that children and babies are murdered too. Yes, we are back to seeing the bodies of tiny babies bleeding through their white shrouds, held up by emaciated mothers and fathers who respond to the brutality with ‘in God we trust’. All the while the Zionist politicians and military chiefs cheer on the annihilation with glee.

There is no doubt that the new army chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Eyal Zamir, who assumed his post less than two weeks ago is not just trying  to claw back the significant loss of status of the IDF both physically and morally in the face of defeat, breaking the internationally agreed upon ceasefire but is also helping Netanyahu evade justice from Israeli courts.

Netenyahu’s corruption Trial: War as a shield from Justice

The resumption of hostilities has also coincided conveniently with the postponement of Netanyahu’s corruption trial. Facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, Netanyahu has spent the past decade manoeuvring to avoid legal accountability. His legal troubles, which date back to his last tenure as prime minister, have fuelled his increasingly desperate attempts to remain in power at any cost.

With his trial originally set to advance in the coming months, Netanyahu once again turned to war as his preferred distraction. By plunging Israel into another military crisis, he has ensured that the focus shifts away from his personal legal battles and back onto the nationalist rhetoric that has sustained his career. A nation at war is far less likely to tolerate dissent, and Israel’s judiciary is less inclined to aggressively pursue legal proceedings against a leader claiming to be defending the state.

Netanyahu’s pattern of political survival through conflict is well-documented. In 2019, amid previous legal troubles, he oversaw a surge in military aggression. In 2021, as his grip on power weakened, he again escalated violence in Gaza. Now, with his political career hanging by a thread, he has once again chosen war as his escape route.

Associated Press and Al Jazeera reports have laid out the basis of the three corruption charges commonly referred to as cases 1000, 2000 and 4000;

Case 1000 (The “Gifts Affair”): Netanyahu is accused of accepting gifts such as expensive cigars and champagne from wealthy businessmen, including Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer, in exchange for political favors. These favors allegedly included assisting Milchan with U.S. visa matters and proposing tax legislation beneficial to Milchan’s interests.

Case 2000: This case involves allegations that Netanyahu negotiated with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, to receive favorable media coverage. In return, Netanyahu purportedly offered to support legislation that would suppress the circulation of a rival newspaper, Israel Hayom, thereby benefiting Yedioth Ahronoth.

Case 4000: In this case, Netanyahu is accused of promoting regulatory decisions favorable to Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of the telecommunications company Bezeq, in exchange for positive coverage on Walla News, a news website owned by Elovitch. The alleged regulatory benefits were reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Internal Israeli divisions

Even before the war on Gaza, Netanyahu was facing mounting opposition in Israel. Now the protests his government that were initially only focused on judicial reform have expanded to a broader movement against his leadership. While the ultra-nationalists call for more killing of Palestinian civilians there are now loud questions being asked about his self-serving project that have rightly brought shame on the genocidal state. His alliances with the extremists and failure to secure hostage release by violating the ceasefire agreement may just be the match that will set his political career up in flames.

For now, as the war may silence critics and rally national sentiment, it is the Palestinians as always who bear the brunt of this political calculus. Netanyahu’s strategy is clear: as long as he can keep Israel at war, he can keep himself out of prison. The question remains – how many more Palestinian children will be sacrificed in the process?

Mariam Jooma Çarıkçı is a researcher with the Media Review Network and the author of ‘Kurdistan: Achievable reality or political mirage?’ (2013).

 

 

 

 

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