The 20th session of the testimony of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his criminal corruption trial ended unexpectedly early on Wednesday, as suspicions swirled around the involvement of figures close to Netanyahu with Qatar.
Just after 12 p.m., the defense and prosecution agreed to hold a closed session pertaining to emerging reports, which came just after reports circulated that the Attorney-General’s Office would request that Netanyahu testify about the Qatargate scandal, in which members of the Prime Minister’s Office are suspected of accepting bribes from the titular Gulf state.
Qatargate overshadows all
The abrupt end to the hearing came as a surprise, as the testimony was scheduled to be an extra two hours on Monday after a Sunday court decision to acquiesce to a Netanyahu request to cancel the Wednesday hearing. The court had previously decided that the week’s docket would have three days of testimony from Netanyahu after last Wednesday’s hearing was canceled.
Even before the testimony was canceled early on Monday, the influence of the Qatargate scandal over the proceedings was already noted, with lead Case 4000 defense attorney Amit Haddad leaving at the beginning of the hearing. Haddad is the attorney for Netanyahu aide Yonatan Urich, who, according to Israeli media, was arrested on Monday.
Defense attorney Israel Wolnerman led the examination of Netanyahu from that point on, and the team was bolstered later in the morning by the late arrival of attorney Noa Milstein.
The weekly contingent of protesters decried Netanyahu over Qatargate, the potential replacement of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, and his policies regarding hostage negotiations with Hamas.
A protester dressed in a Netanyahu mask and prison jumpsuit held a sign referencing the October 7 massacre as a criminal case, asking if the prime minister would deny there was any responsibility in the same manner that he did for his corruption trial cases.
As Netanyahu entered the courtroom, he was asked by reporters and activists questions regarding the return of the hostages and reports of the appointment of Eli Sharvit as Shin Bet chief.
Verbal disputes arose in the courtroom in between breaks as activists heckled the prime minister over the hostage deal, and Netanyahu supporters rose to yell back. Einav Zangauker, the mother of a hostage held by Hamas, gave Netanyahu a letter urging him to take immediate action to return the captives from Gaza and detailing her concern about the conditions he was suffering in Gaza.
Scheduling became a major issue at the beginning of the hearing, not just due to the flurry of hearing date changes over the last two weeks but also regarding the limit of testimony hearings available to the prime minister.
The judges noted that the testimonies for Case 4000 are set to end at the end of this week, following their February 24 ruling limiting the testimony to 24 hearings. Haddad reiterated that in order to meet the timelines set by the court, the defense team had to trim and cut their arguments.
Netanyahu has previously argued the importance of him being able to address each of the 315 indictment items pertaining to the case.
During the limited time available to Wolnerman on Monday, Netanyahu reviewed the indictment’s items about a supposed media bribery scheme between him and then-Walla owner Shaul Elovitch, disputing claims of an unusual relationship by emphasizing alleged coverage demands that were apparently routine press statements.
Asked about a press statement sent to all mass media, Netanyahu noted that Walla didn’t publish an article related to the statement, but other outlets did.
“This is corruption?” he asked. “This is the big case, the one that halted a whole country for ten years?”
One item pertained to a 2016 statement by Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman, in which he said, “The government doesn’t know how to decide and is afraid to fight terrorism.” The Likud sent Walla a response to Liberman, which Netanyahu explained was “a standard press statement and not special to Walla.”
Netanyahu raged at the court about being accused of bribery over routine press statements, with the outburst leading Judge Rivka Feldman-Friedman to tell him, “There is no need to get into this; you’re repeating yourself.”“I will try to contain myself,” the prime minister responded.
The defense further referenced a time when Netanyahu posted a photo to Facebook about a trip with his wife, Sara, to the Golan Heights. Ynet published an article about it at the time, which led to a conversation between Elovitch and then-Walla editor Avi Alkalai about where they could get the materials from.
Netanyahu noted that when Ynet published the article, there wasn’t any suspicion of unusual treatment on that end. But, when Walla found out about the story through a Facebook post and published an article soon thereafter, it was considered corruption.
Netanyahu argued that internal communications highlighted how Walla deliberated about covering items raised by Netanyahu’s spokesperson, conflicting with the prosecution’s theory that there was an agreement between the two parties.
The prime minister was also angered about ostensible double standards relating to a request from a spokesperson to publish an article about a survey of mandates for the Likud, which showed that former Likud MK and minister Moshe Kahlon was weakening in the polls while Lapid was gaining popularity.
Elovich discussed with Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua whether to write about the poll, with the former outlet owner warning not to emphasize Kahlon’s tumbling ratings: “I need Kahlon calm. It’s forbidden to antagonize him now.”
Netanyahu’s testimony is set to continue today, but the hours and the hearing itself are uncertain amid other scandals and duties.