Netanyahu hearing ends early due to security reasons

In one heated exchange, Netanyahu charged that he was shredded by the media for not carrying out what he said were “leftist” policies. 

The relationship between Netanyahu and Milchan began to take shape in 1999, after the two met in 1996. These years encompassed the entirety of Netanyahu’s first premiership. 

“We met, and there was an immediate connection,” said Netanyahu. 

“After I lost the elections [in 1999], I sat at a restaurant in Tel Aviv,” said Netanyahu. “Arnon [Milchan] was there with his mother, we struck up a conversation, and immediately there formed an incredible connection that deepened the friendship.”

Ehud Barak was elected prime minister in 1999. Netanyahu explained on Monday that he had decided he would not return to politics, despite popular calls to do so after the Second Intifada broke out. 

“Milchan was one of Hollywood’s greatest producers - he definitely didn’t need any help from me,” Netanyahu said. The prime minister is accused of having advocated for tax exemption extensions for returning citizens - which Milchan was, and would have benefited from. He also allegedly directed Shlomo Filber, who was the director-general of the Communications Ministry in 2015, and later became a state's witness, to help Milchan with regulatory concerns. This was related to a merger deal between media companies Reshet and Keshet, which Milchan was considering investing in. 

The interrogations into Milchan by police in December 2016 are what terminated their relationship, Netanyahu said.

Up until now, the defense tried to show how an abuse of process took place when it came to this specific case, meaning that legal processes were used in unjustified or unreasonable ways. It did this by presenting what appeared to be a pattern of acts by police and by the legal arm to procure testimonies against Netanyahu. The defense showed that it did this by mounting public and private pressure on these people.

Hadad proceeded on Monday to the heart of Case 1000, the “Illegal Gifts Affair.” Netanyahu is on trial for allegedly receiving goods from billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer. The prosecution claimed that the goods - boxes of cigars and champagne - placed Netanyahu in a conflict of interest, which manifested when it came to Milchan. 

Asked about Milchan on Monday, Netanyahu said, “He’s my friend! I know his family, he knows mine, we were close friends, the type that can speak for hours. Our wives were friends… We discussed our children’s weddings, their doctors appointments… This was the nature of the relationship; there is no other way to put it.” 

He added, “We didn’t ask for anything… Arnon is a giver, that’s the kind of person he is.”

Netanyahu also denied the notion of a “supply line” for cigars and champagne. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a 15-minute break during his testimony.

Hadad presented an interview that Channel 13 investigative journalist Raviv Drucker gave to Army Radio. In it, he said that he had information that could lend support to Shlomo Filber, who was a former Netanyahu aide and became a state witness. The defense did not have these materials.

In the recording, he said that Filber "needs to be supported, so that he can tell the truth." 

Netanyahu said, "To understand what I feel, I ask you to imagine the opposite scenario: If Channel 14 [known as a pro-Netanyahu channel] were to put out an investigative piece in support of him, the results would not be the same." 

He continued, "This is unacceptable in a democracy, and I haven't seen this in Israel ever. This was how I felt, that I was being hunted, that every judicial norm was being violated."

What Netanyahu described as political witch hunts “turned away life-long friends of mine. People were so freaked out by the treatment they experienced at the hands of the authorities,” he said.

The prosecution argued that Netanyahu saying how he felt is actually space to air out his speculations.  

Lead defense attorney Amit Hadad presented testimonies of figures who were close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but were allegedly pressured by police to turn against him. The prime minister said, “This was a witch hunt, a personal hunt. They were targeting me and my family.”

Tensions ran high in the room as the prosecution objected to Hadad’s questioning of Netanyahu, saying that it was too emotional. The judges urged him to proceed with the questioning. 

“‘How did you feel?’ is a legitimate question,” lead judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman said.

The testimony of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began in the Tel Aviv District Court on Monday morning on Case 1000, which started before the Passover break. 

The hearing took place ahead of the expected submission of an affidavit by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar, who received an extension until noon today, against the government’s attempt to fire him. 

As the prime minister entered the courtroom, he was asked for his input on Bar’s affidavit, as well as regarding comments made this morning by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that returning the hostages is not the prime goal of Israel's leadership at the moment - rather it is destroying Hamas. 

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse to protest against Netanyahu, chanting “Qatar is Hamas, an enemy state,” in reference to investigations headed by police and the Shin Bet into Qatari influences over figures in the prime minister’s circles.