Trial against former Israeli premier opens in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert arrived at Jerusalem’s District Court Thursday for the opening of a corruption trial against him.

It is the first trial in Israeli history against a former premier.

“Today, the chapter of bombastic statements and plastic descriptions” has ended, Olmert told reporters at the court.

“Here, the facts will be checked,” he said of the court trial, speaking in a calm tone of voice.

The 64-year-old former premier expressed confidence he would be able to prove his innocence. “I am sure that the end (of the process) will confirm what I told you at the beginning of the road,” he said.

Olmert made his first court appearance in September, for a preliminary procedural hearing in which he and his former office manager were asked if they had read and understood the indictments filed against them.

Both were indicted in August on counts including fraud, breach of trust, falsification of documents and failure to report income.

The evidence phase of the trial is now beginning - some 18 months after Olmert resigned amid corruption allegations.

His resignation pushed Israeli into early elections, which saw the hardline Likud party of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu return to power, and sent Olmert’s centrist Kadima into opposition.

The trial is expected to last at least several months and is scheduled to open with one court session a week on Thursdays, which will later increase to two and three sessions weekly.