Some relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza have come to demand that more be done to free their loved ones.
Hadas Calderon’s two children were released as part of a temporary truce last year, while her ex-husband Ofer remains in captivity.
She told the BBC that the prime minister “cares more about his own sins, his private sins, than his citizens”.
“He doesn’t care about the hostages. It’s very sad.”
Before the Gaza war, Netanyahu’s trial was deeply divisive in Israel and dominated the debate during five consecutive Israeli elections.
The prime minister’s critics have seen his current government’s efforts to limit the powers of the judiciary as linked to his legal problems, although he has denied this.
While the deadly attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. brought social unity, it largely collapsed as the war it had caused dragged on.
In recent weeks, Israel has reached an unstable ceasefire in Lebanon with the armed group Hezbollah.
But at the same time, internal tensions between key cabinet ministers and the judiciary have resurfaced, with threats to roll back some controversial legal reforms.
This trial is expected to conclude in no more than a year.
Even if the prime minister is found guilty, he could appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning these trials will likely continue to overshadow Israeli politics for the foreseeable future.
