Judges in Netanyahu corruption trial order attorney general to appear in court

In an extraordinary step, the Jerusalem District Court orders Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to appear in court to discuss how to proceed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial.

Baharav-Miara declined a proposal by the judges presiding over the case for her to appear in court earlier this week, saying it was unnecessary.

In a decision issued today, the judges say that the idea of having the attorney general appear was to examine “different possibilities” for how to move forward with the trial.

Noting Baharav-Miara’s refusal to come, the judges state that they nevertheless believe it will be beneficial for her to appear in person in order to hear the issues concerning the trial directly, since she is the official empowered to make decisions regarding the prosecution of the case.

The court orders her to appear in court next Wednesday, saying the session could be conducted behind closed doors if necessary.

The highly unusual summons to the attorney general comes against the background of testimony by former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit who indicted Netanyahu in 2020. Mandelblit’s testimony raised concerns about the seemingly problematic manner in which the investigation into Netanyahu was conducted, as well as how the subsequent decision to indict him was made.

In addition, Mandelblit acknowledged in court that he had not reviewed a key part of the indictment in Case 4000 in which Netanyahu is charged with bribery before signing off on it.

The Jerusalem District Court has twice recommended that the prosecution drop the bribery charge, most recently in June this year, but Baharav-Miara and her prosecutors did not respond to the proposal.

The court’s summons to the attorney general could be connected to this recommendation.