Benjamin Netanyahu professed his innocence at the start of his corruption trial on Sunday, saying he was being framed in the first criminal prosecution of a serving Israeli prime minister.

Flanked by a clutch of cabinet ministers from his right-wing Likud party, and speaking forcefully, Netanyahu appealed to public opinion, addressing television cameras in the courthouse hallway before taking his seat on the defendants’ bench.

“These investigations were tainted and stitched-up from the first moment,” Netanyahu said about charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud at the centre of three graft cases against him.

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