Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Newsmax on Tuesday that he remains committed to leading Israel despite what he described as sustained political attacks, legal obstruction, and an ongoing corruption trial, arguing that his role is a mission rooted in history and national survival, not personal power.
Speaking this week in Florida during a visit that included meetings with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu addressed both regional security issues and his own political battles in an interview airing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
The conversation covered Israel's war posture, Iran, the Gaza Strip, and internal pressures facing the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu rejected the idea that ongoing legal proceedings or political opposition should push him out of office, saying a sense of inherited responsibility drives his decision to stay in public life.
"Because it's a mission to which I inherited from my father, my brother who died while leading a hostage rescue mission, which rescued 103 hostages from horrible terrorists, Palestinian terrorists, and Germans who were helping them," Netanyahu said.
"My mission is to make sure that I do as much as I can in the time that I have allotted on this earth to safeguard the future of the Jewish people and the Jewish state."
Netanyahu said stepping away would amount to abandoning that responsibility, even as he faces what he described as relentless political and legal pressure at home.
He characterized the long-running corruption case against him as an effort by opponents to remove him after repeated election victories.
"I was accused of getting positive coverage from a second-rate, third-rate internet site that was the so-called bribe," he said. "It was put forward by this politicized prosecution that wanted to get rid of me because I kept winning elections."
Netanyahu said judges later acknowledged there was no bribery, yet the case continued. He pointed to what he described as the trivial nature of remaining allegations.
"One of the first things that they say is, 'Prime Minister, 29 years ago, your son, 5 years old at the time, received a Bugs Bunny doll from a friend,'" Netanyahu said. "So that became the Bugs Bunny trial.
"And then they said, 'OK, that's what's left.' Bugs Bunny. And I got some cigars from a friend."
The prime minister said the trial forces him to spend hours in court several days a week while Israel is fighting on multiple fronts.
"I have to spend two to three times a week during a war, you know, eight hours a day," he said. "The whole thing, obviously, distracts me from the real job that we have."
Netanyahu argued that despite the war and domestic opposition, Israel's economy and global standing have grown stronger under his leadership.
"Yes, it's necessary, and yes, you have to do it, but you do it for a cause," he said. "That's the cause that I follow, inherited from my father, from my grandfather, and from the people of Israel," he said.
"Politics for power is boring by itself," he said.
"What does it mean? You do it for a cause."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.