If nothing unexpected happens, today (Monday) state witness Nir Hefetz is scheduled to begin his testimony at the trial of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. To testify that before signing the agreement with the state, he lied in his investigation with the Securities Authority so as not to complicate Netanyahu.
At the same time, Netanyahu's lawyers yesterday approached Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit with a request to open an investigation into the leaks of the investigation materials.
The appeal was made after the publication of "Fact" presenter Ilana Dayan in News 12 about the new testimony given by Hadas Klein, who was Arnon Milchen's personal assistant, regarding a bracelet worth $ 46,500 that Sarah Netanyahu claims she received from businessman James Packer.
"The original invoice was given by Klein in a sealed envelope to police investigators, and since the leaked invoice was sent at a time when the materials had not yet been submitted for defense - there is a significant indication that the person who leaked the invoice to Dayan is a prosecutor," said attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein.
Netanyahu's supporters outside the Jerusalem District Court // Photo: Efrat Forsher, Yoni Rickner
According to the indictment, as part of the 4000 case, as part of the "give and take" mutual relationship between Netanyahu and businessman Shaul Alovich, an intense, frequent and unusual relationship began between them.
In this connection, defendant Netanyahu addressed various types of demands to defendant Elowitz, and later also to defendant Iris Elowitz, directly and through intermediaries, and the demands for intervention in publications on the Walla website were also made through a third party mediated between them - Nir Hefetz.
The indictment further states that Netanyahu's family members also made various demands on Shaul and Iris Elowitz, directly and through intermediaries.
These demands covered Netanyahu and his family on the Walla website, and even covered his political opponents.
Prior to his testimony, Hefetz went through updated interviews with the State Attorney's Office, and testified that whenever a request was received for a response that had explosive media potential, Netanyahu dealt with it, and "the administration of the state stopped for up to half a day," he said.
Netanyahu and his lawyers in the district court, Photo: Emil Salman
As mentioned, last week Netanyahu arrived at the courtroom, as did Hefetz, but then, at the request of the defense attorneys, the judges decided to accept the request to reject the testimony due to Klein's testimony.
The judges also referred to the leaks about the content of Klein's new testimony and said: "We believe that this cannot be passed on to the agenda. We expect the investigating authorities to investigate the matter."
