From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Likud demands Netanyahu’s trial be halted following former AG Mandelblit’s testimony
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party calls for his corruption trial to be halted immediately following testimony by former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit, with the party accusing prosecutors and police investigators of fabricating the cases against the premier.
“We demand that the trial be halted immediately following Mandelblit’s testimony and that the proceedings be terminated because the cases were unlawfully fabricated,” Likud says in a statement, calling for criminal investigations into Mandelblit and several senior law enforcement officials involved in the cases.
Mandelblit acknowledged today that he had not authorized every police action during the investigation, though he maintained that he had approved all major investigative steps. He also conceded that he had not reviewed the 315 examples of alleged media bribery cited in the indictment in Case 4000, in which Netanyahu is accused of trading regulatory favors for positive coverage, many of which were discredited during the premier’s testimony.
“The trial against the prime minister is a witch hunt intended to bring down a strong right-wing prime minister. For years, they put him, his wife, his sons, and his associates through seven circles of hell,” the party claims, accusing investigators of trying “to achieve through improper means what they had failed to achieve at the ballot box.”
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