Netanyahu says Walla coverage ‘went further to the left’ after meetings with Elovitch

Netanyahu tells the court that he never discussed the idea of a mutually beneficial relationship with Shaul Elovitch, former owner of the Walla news site, dismissing the idea as “absurd.”

“I don’t need any agreement to turn to someone with a request, not understandings, agreements, nothing,” he says.

Asked by his defense attorney Amit Hadad whether there was any change in Walla’s coverage of him following his meetings with Elovitch, Netanyahu says: “Yes, there was a change. It went further to the left.”

The line of questioning on the second day of Netanyahu’s testimony has so far focused on a critical dinner he and his wife Sara shared with Elovitch and his wife Iris in 2012.

The prosecution has alleged that the dinner in question was when the two men came up with their plan for regulatory benefits in exchange for positive media coverage.

Netanyahu alleges, however, that the two men didn’t discuss business during their dinner.

“He didn’t speak to me about his business, didn’t hint to me about them, and didn’t request anything from me. And if we would have requested something, anything, he would have got a decisive ‘no,'” the premier alleges.

Hadad asks whether Netanyahu viewed the dinner as important at the time, to which he responds that “it wasn’t significant, it was routine — it wasn’t a portentous event, it was another event, no more, no less.”

He says he wasn’t aware if Elovitch had expected help advancing his own economic interests, as it “didn’t come up.”

Regarding the prosecution’s claim that the two men had a mutually beneficial agreement in place, Netanyahu points out that “it was election time” during the period of interest.

“No one knew if I was going to be elected — if I would have had an agreement with Elovitch, this was the time to use it,” he says.