Judges in Netanyahu trial ask for testimony to move faster as defense dwells on every detail

PM’s lawyer tells court he’ll return with time estimate at special hearing called to expedite proceedings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the courtroom at the District court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, December 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the courtroom at the District court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, December 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The judges in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial convened a hearing on Wednesday in an attempt to expedite proceedings, which have dragged on at a snail’s pace since the start of Netanyahu’s testimony earlier this month, as the prime minister’s defense team insisted on questioning him on every single one of hundreds of incidents cited in the indictment against him.

Netanyahu is giving testimony in the Tel Aviv District Court on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000, involving the Walla news site and its owner Shaul Elovitch. The prosecution alleges Walla gave Netanyahu favorable coverage in return for his assistance on regulatory matters.

The indictment accusing Netanyahu of such a quid pro quo lists 315 examples of instances in which Netanyahu, his family members, or associates sought improved coverage from Walla. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, has insisted on reviewing each one during the testimony.

While hinting that they will not allow any amendments to the indictment, the judges on Wednesday requested that the defense and prosecution establish some areas of agreement about the facts, and asked Hadad to give an estimate on how long he expects the testimony on the case — one of three the premier faces — will take.

“Can you give us an estimate of the time? How many days will you take for direct examination?” asked Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, who heads the panel of judges.

Hadad said he needed to think and would get back to the judges later, explaining, “We’re going through the incidents year-by-year. We’ve gone through a year and a half out of four. I don’t know. I’ll give you an estimate at the next hearing. I don’t want to pull something out of nowhere.”

Prosecutor Alon Gildin arrives for a court hearing in the trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on December 25, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The attorney added that “ultimately, the prime minister is here with us, and not in other places, with all that implies. We have no interest in things going on this way.”

The judges instructed the defense and prosecution to arrange together some means of expediting the proceedings, and to update the court once they’d come to an agreement, according to the Ynet news site.

The charges against Netanyahu

Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000.

Case 1000 revolves around allegations that Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, received expensive gifts illicitly from Hollywood media mogul Arnon Milchan worth some NIS 700,000, and that Netanyahu violated conflict of interest laws when he provided Milchan with assistance in renewing his long-term US residency visa and sought to help him with tax issues.

In Case 2000, the prime minister is accused of fraud and breach of trust over his alleged attempt to reach a quid pro quo agreement with the publisher of the Yedioth Aharaonot newspaper Arnon (Noni) Mozes, whereby Yedioth would give the prime minister more positive media coverage in exchange for legislation weakening its key rival, the Israel Hayom free sheet.

Case 4000, also known as the Bezeq-Walla case, is the most serious the prime minister faces, in which he is accused of authorizing regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Elovitch by hundreds of millions of shekels. In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Walla news site, which Elovitch also owned.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing and says the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.

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