Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to testify in court on Tuesday, facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.
Netanyahu has repeatedly requested to delay his testimony because of the conflicts roiling the Middle East but was mostly denied by the courts. The long-running trial comes as Netanyahu is already facing accusations by critics in Israel of dragging out the war in Gaza and putting off a cease-fire deal that could release some 100 hostages who remain in the territory after 14 months of war triggered by the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in the Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children.
Meanwhile, U.S. prosecutors have accused two senior Syrian officials of overseeing a notorious prison that tortured peaceful protesters and other political prisoners, including a 26-year-old American woman who was later believed to have been executed.
The indictment was unsealed Monday, two days after a shock rebel offensive overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad. The U.S., U.N. and others accuse him of widespread human rights abuses in a 13-year battle to crush opposition forces seeking his removal from power.
Assad fled to Russia, where he received asylum from his longtime ally.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone in Syria and a wave of Israeli airstrikes launched after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that “the assaults carried out by the Israeli occupation government, including the seizure of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and the targeting of Syrian territory confirm Israel’s continued violation of the principles of international law and its determination to sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring its security, stability and territorial integrity.”
Israel sent troops into a buffer zone inside Syria that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. It said the move was temporary and was taken to prevent any cross-border attacks after Syrian troops withdrew.
Israel has also carried out heavy airstrikes that it says are aimed at preventing suspected chemical weapons and long-range rockets from falling into the hands of extremists.
Saudi Arabia has been in talks with the United States in recent years over normalizing relations with Israel in exchange for a U.S. defense pact, American assistance in establishing a civilian nuclear program and a pathway to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But the kingdom has also repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, where it is at war with the Hamas militant group.
Last month, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and day-to-day ruler Mohammed bin Salman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, allegations Israel adamantly rejects.
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