Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first day on the witness stand did not disappoint as he went off on a tirade defending his record and bashing those who opposed his leadership in times of crisis.

“Absolute lies,” Netanyahu began. “I work 17-18 hours a day… It’s around-the-clock work into the early hours of the night. There’s almost no time to see family. I didn’t see the children, and that’s a hefty price to pay,” Netanyahu said, adding that his rare leisure time is spent reading history or economics books.

Speaking from an underground Tel Aviv courtroom for four hours on Tuesday, Netanyahu also used his time to settle old scores with the Obama administration, painting himself as Israel’s lone defender against intense American pressure.

“Obama made it clear to me that U.S. policy was going to take a sharp turn against the ideas I believed in,” Netanyahu recounted of his interactions with the former U.S. President. “He saw Iran not as a threat but as an opportunity and saw a vital need for us to return to the ’67 lines and establish a Palestinian state here.”

According to Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Obama insisted that “not even one brick” could be built beyond the Green Line even in established Jerusalem neighborhoods like Gilo. He also took particular satisfaction in recounting how he rebuffed then-Secretary of State John Kerry’s plans for Judea and Samaria.

“I had to face great pressure to create a Palestinian state,” he said. “Kerry explained to me that my fear of placing security in Judea and Samaria in Palestinian forces’ hands was unfounded because the Americans were training Palestinian forces and we could withdraw.”

Netanyahu dismissed Kerry’s argument by recalling how he had warned Obama that U.S.-trained Afghan forces would crumble once American troops withdrew.

“Obama suggested I make a secret visit to Afghanistan to see how American forces were training local forces. I told him the moment you leave Afghanistan, these forces will collapse under Islamist forces, and that’s exactly what happened.”

The case against Netanyahu includes allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust stemming from a 2019 indictment. He’s accused of accepting gifts from Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, failing to report a bribery attempt from newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes, and making regulatory changes benefiting telecom mogul Shaul Elovitch in exchange for favorable media coverage.

Netanyahu argued that if positive media coverage had been his goal, he could have easily achieved it by supporting a Palestinian state.

“Had I moved two steps to the left I would have been hailed,” he testified, “I had to deal with this, I had to deflect it, and it was no small matter.””