At the end of last week, it was revealed that the Jerusalem District Court judges in the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges, Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham, held a closed conversation in chambers with the prosecution and defense attorneys in Case 4000. Netanyahu is accused in this case of obtaining favorable coverage on the Walla! News website, owned at the time by Shaul Elovitch, in return for favorable treatment by the Ministry of Communications for telecommunications company Bezeq, then controlled by Elovitch. Elovitch and his wife Iris are also on trial in this case.
According to last week’s reports, having heard most of the evidence, the judges conveyed to the prosecution that it would find it difficult to establish the charge of bribery against Netanyahu in Case 4000, and also urged the two sides to reach a plea bargain, "for the good of the country". Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has indicated that, despite the judges’ comments, the bribery charge will not be dropped. Even if it is dropped, the lesser, but still serious, charge against Netanyahu in this case of breach of trust by a public official will presumably remain.
Following a petition by the "Ha’ayin Hashevi’it" ("Seventh Eye") periodical, the judges have announced that they will publish "a condensed description" of their conversation with the prosecution and defense in Case 4000, subject to objections by either side.
In their response to the petition, the judges say, "The subject of the petition is a short, informal conversation held in the chambers of the head of the panel behind closed doors, with the agreement of the sides, such as would not generally be required to be recorded in the protocol.
"Nevertheless, in the light of the reasons for the petition, and taking into account the stance of the prosecution… we intend to give a decision in which there will be a condensed description of the conversation, all subject to reasoned objections by either of the parties to the procedure, which can be filed by July 3, 2023."
As far as is known, the judges’ comments have no bearing on the other cases in which Netanyahu is on trial: Case 1000, involving gifts to the prime minister and his wife Sara by Arnon Milchan; and Case 3000, involving recorded conversations between Netanyahu and "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper proprietor Arnon Mozes, in which Netanyahu apparently offered legislation that would aid "Yedioth Ahronoth" against rival newspaper "Israel Hayom" in return for favorable coverage - legislation that never materialized.
Arnon Milchan is currently giving evidence in Case 1000 in the UK, where he resides.
It is made clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies the actions attributed to him, has not been convicted of any crime, and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 26, 2023.
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