After the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was halted in September, the trial will resume on Monday, with the testimony of three investigators.
Netanyahu's trial (archive) \\ Yoni Rikner
The pause in the trial occurred due to the court recess, followed by the outbreak of war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, when all the courts ceased their activities. The hearings in Case 4000 will continue, including testimonies by police investigators Eran Buchnik and Dotan Malihi, and Israel Securities Authority investigator Lior Spitz.
In the past, the judges summoned representatives of the prosecution and defense in Case 4000, and made it clear to them that it would not be possible to prove the offense of bribery in the case, and they did not express a position regarding the offense of breach of trust. On the eve of the war, Israel Hayom exposed the opinion of the State Prosecutor's Office and Senior Prosecutor Nissim Marom, according to which State Witness Shlomo Filber violated the state's agreement with him and that his prosecution was being considered. Most lawyers support this option, but no decision has yet been made, and there are some difficulties in doing so.
Filber and Netanyahu in the courtroom (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In Case 4000, the prime minister was suspected of providing regulatory benefits to businessman Shaul Elovitch, who owned the Bezeq Group, in exchange for favorable coverage on the Walla website, which was under his control. Two and a half years have passed since the beginning of the prime minister's trial.
Minister Dudi Amsalem addressed this yesterday, saying sarcastically: "What is most important now is to renew Netanyahu's trial, and to occupy the Israeli prime minister with baseless testimonies and delusional trifles. An unparalleled disgrace."
Shaul Elovitch (Archive), Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Surprisingly, the person who made the decision to return the hearings to all the courts in Israel was Justice Minister Yariv Levin of the Likud, with the consent of the court administration. Netanyahu's lawyer, Boaz Ben-Tzur, refrained from submitting an appropriate request to exclude Netanyahu's trial from the decision and to freeze the hearings.
In a few months, during 2024, the prosecution case will come to an end and the defense will begin, with the testimony of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If the war continues during that period, Netanyahu will have to propose a course of conduct, since his testimony means he is in court three days a week, from morning to afternoon.
Netanyahu will propose, the State Prosecutor's Office will have to respond and propose an outline as well, and the judges will have to decide. For example, today the State Prosecutor's Office filed a request in the submarine case, according to which the testimony of Lahav 433 commander, Major General Moti Levy, will take place once a week and for half a day of hearings only. This is due to the complex investigations of Hamas terrorists and other war-related missions.
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