BICOM

What happened: Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyers will today challenge the Attorney General’s evidence against him in a pre-trial hearing in three cases where he has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

• Netanyahu will be represented by ten lawyers who will challenge legal officials led by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan. Netanyahu is not expected to attend any of the hearings.

Context: In Case 4000, Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust and accused of securing regulatory concessions to Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Bezeq telecommunications, in exchange for favourable news reports in the Walla news website, which is also owned by Elovitch. Netanyahu is suspected of taking bribes and acting in a conflict of interest, including Bezeq’s merger with the satellite TV company Yes that he presided over as Communications Minister.

• According to the police investigation, from 2012 to 2017 Netanyahu and his associates “blatantly intervened” on a near-daily basis in the Walla news website, using their connections with Elovitch, and his wife Iris, to influence appointments there and to promote flattering articles and pictures while dropping critical stories.
• In February 2019 the Attorney General announced his intention to indict Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pending a hearing. He published a 57-page ‘announcement of suspicions,’ which said Netanyahu: “Hurt the image of public service and public faith in it”. He added: “You [Netanyahu] acted in a conflict of interests, you abused your authority while taking into account other considerations that relate to your personal interests and the interests of your family. You corrupted public servants working under you.”
• Legal experts assess that Netanyahu’s top priority is to have the most serious charge of bribery dropped. This will make it more comfortable for him in terms of public consumption and also could help him avoid prison if he is to reach a plea bargain or a deal further along the process.
• The timing of the hearing coincides with the crucial period that Netanyahu has been allotted to form the next government. So far negotiations with the Blue and White Party have not yielded any success and they cancelled a meeting with Netanyahu scheduled for this evening.

Looking ahead: On Sunday (and Monday) the hearings will review the evidence in cases 1000 and 2000. In case 1000 Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust. He is alleged to have accepted gifts worth tens of thousands of pounds from Arnon Milchan, an Israeli born Hollywood producer and Australian James Packer in return for favours.

• In Case 2000, Netanyahu is also charged with fraud and breach of trust relating to conversations with Arnon Moses the owner of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper aimed at receiving more favourable coverage in return for restricting circulation of Israel Hayom, a rival, free newspaper owned by Sheldon Adelson.
• Although the hearings are due to be completed by next Monday, the State Attorney’s Office has said that it would not limit Netanyahu’s representatives and would enable them to present their arguments in full no matter how long it takes.
• If new material is presented during the hearing the police could be asked to continue their investigations.
• The Attorney General is expected to announce his decision whether or not to indict Netanyahu at the end of November or early December. However, the process until now has already seen several delays and extensions.
• Even if formally indicted, Netanyahu is still innocent until proven guilty. If he remains Prime Minister he is not required to resign and can continue to fight the case. If he were to accept a ministerial post in a unity Government he would have to resign as soon as he were indicted, which is why he is insisting that he be Prime Minister first in any rotation arrangement with Benny Gantz.