From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 10, 2025
‘You have been dragging me through hell!’: PM explodes at prosecutors in criminal trial
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explodes with anger at the prosecutors in the court during his criminal trial hearing, after his lawyer Amit Hadad details an item in the indictment against him that Netanyahu says demonstrates the prosecution’s effort to invent charges against him.
The indictment details an article published on the Walla news website about Netanyahu’s son Avner enlisting in the IDF, which the prosecutors say Netanyahu demanded that Walla’s then-owner Shaul Elovitch publish as part of an illicit quid pro quo agreement between the two, in which the premier received “special treatment” from the news outlet in return for making regulatory decisions which benefited Elovitch’s business interests.
Hadad points out that multiple other outlets published articles on Avner’s IDF enlistment, including Haaretz, which is fiercely critical of Netanyahu, and that the event was in general newsworthy.
“How is it possible that I am indicted for this when it is published in every other outlet including my ‘friend’ [Haaretz publisher Amos] Schocken. You have been dragging me through this hell for eight years. For what? Have you no shame?!” demands Netanyahu of the prosecutors in the courtroom.
“This is unbelievable… Did you check this?… You didn’t check anything. How can you say what is special treatment? You have made this up from beginning to end!”
The hearing ends early after Netanyahu tells the judges that he wishes to speak in a vote of no-confidence motion scheduled in the Knesset this afternoon, and the judges accede.
The Times of Israel Community.