ISTANBUL

While Israeli opposition parties rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to dismiss corruption charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, far-right ministers backed the idea.

“With all due respect to Trump, he should not interfere in a legal process in an independent country,” opposition leader Yair Lapid told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday.

Lapid termed Trump’s call as “a compensation” to Netanyahu “because he's going to pressure him on the Gaza issue - to end the war. That's typical of Trump.”

In a post on his Truth Social account on Wednesday, Trump called Netanyahu a “warrior,” saying that his trial was a “witch hunt” and should be canceled.

“No one is above the law, not even a prime minister,” Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from the opposition Democrats Party, said on his official X account.

Ariel Kellner, a Knesset member for Netanyahu’s Likud Party, also rejected the call.

"In principle, I oppose any foreign political interference in Israel's internal affairs. Isn't it time our judicial system does some soul-searching?” Kellner said.

Far-right support

Trump’s call to drop the corruption charges against Netanyahu, however, won support from far-right ministers in the Israeli government.

“Israel is indeed an independent and sovereign state, but President Trump is absolutely right - it's time to abolish the absurd sentence that the deep state concocted in an attempt to stage a coup against democracy,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on his X account.

“An urgent reform of the judicial system is a must!”

Simcha Rotman, a lawmaker from the far-right National Religious Party, called to “stop this absurd process” by submitting a bill to demand a halt to the premier’s trial.

Netanyahu faces three separate cases of corruption filed in 2019 against him -- Case 1,000, Case 2,000 and Case 4,000 -- which include accusations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing, calling the accusations “fake.”

Netanyahu, whose trial began on May 24, 2020, is the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant in the country’s history.

Under Israeli law, he is not required to resign unless convicted by the Supreme Court, a process that could take several months.

Netanyahu also faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 over atrocities in

Gaza, where over 56,100 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023.