In court, Netanyahu testifies he had ‘no bribery-tainted relationship’ with Bezeq owner

Taking the stand for his sixth day of testimony in his corruption trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to downplay his relationship with then-Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch, with whom he is accused of striking a bribery deal for regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for alterations in the coverage of the premier in the Elovitch-owned Walla news site.

Netanyahu says the benefits he approved for Bezeq in 2013 were prepared by his staff without his personal involvement, and that he hadn’t even been fully aware of their content when he signed them, according to Hebrew media.

He argues that his relationship with Elovitch at the time wasn’t close or personal, and that their acquaintance had taken place in a meeting with a big group of leading businesspeople.

“There was no bribery-tainted relationship before or after [signing the approvals]. I think it’s pretty interesting that these approvals are included in the charges,” he says.

After that, Netanyahu argues that a Walla story at the time highlighting that his son Yair was dating a non-Jewish woman was “aimed at harming support of me among my voter base.”

The story ended up being taken down, and is cited in the indictment as one of hundreds of examples of intervention in the site’s coverage to benefit the prime minister.

Netanyahu says that the story was taken down after more than 10 hours, at 8 p.m. that day, meaning “it was at the end of the [news] cycle” and constitutes “failure to accede [to his circle’s request].”

At the same time, Netanyahu asserts that Walla was a “marginal” news outlet and that its coverage hadn’t affected him “in any way.”