PM denies backing bill that would have hobbled newspaper, on last day of direct questioning
Netanyahu claims Yedioth publisher Arnon Mozes played role of ‘opposition leader’ and was behind legislation against rival Israel Hayom, as premier now faces cross-examination by prosecutors
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he tried to halt the so-called Israel Hayom law, as he testified on the last day of direct examination by his defense team in his criminal trial.
Netanyahu is far from done testifying, however, and will now face cross-examination by prosecutors.
His comments during Wednesday’s testimony referred to legislation at the center of one of three cases he is charged in — Case 2000 — in which he is accused of trying to formulate an illicit quid pro quo agreement with the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper to hobble rival tabloid Israel Hayom.
The indictment alleges that Yedioth publisher Arnon Mozes offered to scale back criticism of the prime minister in his newspaper in return for the passage of a law restricting the distribution of Israel Hayom, a free paper published by Miriam Adelson and the late Sheldon Adelson that was once widely seen as reflective of Netanyahu’s views.
Such a law was advanced in the Knesset in 2014 by the opposition Labor party but ultimately never passed due to the dissolution of the Knesset that December.
“I wanted to offer [Mozes] another solution, a different path, in order to get out of this maze, a softened law,” Netanyahu said of a meeting he held with Mozes in 2014, as quoted by Channel 12 news.
“I wanted to prevent this law, which would have brought down the coalition. I very much wanted that the coalition not collapse,” he stated, adding that he believed then-finance minister Yair Lapid and then-justice minister Tzipi Livni were planning to replace the government.
“It’s a law that harms democracy and did not need to pass,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said that Mozes was trying to “conquer the Knesset,” and that MKs were afraid of negative coverage in Yedioth, and labeled the publisher as the Knesset’s “opposition leader.”
During a meeting in December 2014, Netanyahu said he decided to record a meeting between him and Mozes to prove he was the one behind the legislation.
“I looked ahead and said: Let’s assume that I lose the election, they will come and pass this law. The only defense I will have is not worth much, but at least I will expose the fact that this is a political-legislative move. I made sure that they knew that Noni was behind the attempt to pass the law. I said to myself: I will prove this,” he said, using Mozes’ nickname.
“Was it important to you that Noni paint a nicer picture of you?” Netanyahu’s defense attorney, Amit Hadad, asked.
“That’s just ridiculous. Is that who they think I am? I’m not like that. And it’s written in the indictment. The indictment is so ugly and so wrong. I wasn’t interested in the coverage. I think today it’s possible to understand that I act in other ways,” he answered angrily.
Netanyahu said he never believed he was involved in a criminal situation involving bribes from Mozes, asserting that the case against him was “sewn” together by police.
“I was never shown the full transcripts of the meetings, even though I asked for them. The police simply lie time and time again. I told the investigators explicitly: ‘You have as much time as you want.’ And they simply staged a coup — they took excerpts of things, pledged that things were said, and it’s all nonsense and lies.”
During a break in the hearings, bereaved grandfather Assaf Agmon, whose grandson, combat medic Sgt. Gur Kehati was killed in Lebanon last November, repeatedly yelled out at the prime minister, “Remove your hostage pin,” accusing him of abandoning the captives held in Gaza.
אסף אגמון לנאשם בפלילים נתניהו בזמן עדותו בבית משפט: "תוריד את סיכת החטופים מפקיר החטופים." pic.twitter.com/IBbbEHpZrp
— demoz goveze (@DemozGoveze) May 7, 2025
Netanyahu said Wednesday that terror groups continue to hold captive 21 hostages who are known or believed to be alive, while there are doubts about the condition of three others. Terrorists also hold the bodies of 35, who have been confirmed dead by the military.
All but one of the hostages — Lt. Hadar Goldin, a soldier who was killed in Gaza in 2014 — were kidnapped by terrorists during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the ongoing war.
The charges
Netanyahu is on trial in two other corruption cases. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000.
Case 1000 revolves around allegations that Netanyahu and wife Sara received expensive gifts illicitly from Milchan worth some NIS 700,000 ($191,000), and that Netanyahu violated conflict of interest laws when he provided Milchan with assistance in renewing his long-term US residency visa and sought to help him with tax issues.
Case 4000, also known as the Bezeq-Walla case, is the most serious the prime minister faces, in which he is accused of authorizing regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Elovitch by hundreds of millions of shekels. In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Walla news site, which Elovitch also owned.
Netanyahu denies wrongdoing and claims the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution. In his testimony, the premier has clashed with judges and railed against the media, which he says is biased against him.
The Times of Israel Community.