Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife Sarah Netanyahu embarked on a state visit to France on Saturday as demonstrations accusing the Israeli leader of corruption entered week 33.
By HAGAY HACOHENUpdated: JULY 16, 2017 07:32
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israeli media on Saturday before embarking on a state visit to France and Hungary."This evening, I will be departing to Paris to meet [French] President Emmanuel Macron," said the prime minister. "From there, I will go to Budapest, where I will meet the leaders of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia."Netanyahu stressed the importance his administration sees in strengthening ties between Israel and European countries. President Macron and Prime Minister Netanyahu will participate in a commemoration ceremony honoring the memory of French Jews who were deported from Paris during World War II, 75 years ago.On the evening Netanyahu departed, the newly-elected leader of the Israeli Labor party, Avi Gabbay, spoke in a demonstration that took place in Petah Tikva in which hundreds of Israelis protested what they see as lenient treatment of Netanyahu by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. This is the thirty-third week of the Petah Tikva demonstration. Gabbay addressed the hundreds of protesters present, and, while stressing that legal procedures were slow and took place in courts of law, said that "there are actions and behaviors which are morally and publicly improper." He added that, "there are moments when public leaders cannot hide behind legal procedures." An official response released by the Likud party noted that Gabbay himself was placed under house arrest in 2005 "and obtained from Bezeq more then NIS 50 million upon leaving his position in the ministry of finance."