Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial resumed late Tuesday after another shortened hearing day, with prosecutors pressing the premier on what they described as contradictions in his testimony over his contacts with Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes.
The hearing, part of Netanyahu’s cross-examination in Case 2000, had originally been scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., after the prime minister asked Monday to end early because of the transition ceremony for the incoming Mossad chief, IDF Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman.
On Tuesday morning, the defense asked to further cut the hearing, citing Netanyahu’s late-night schedule. The Jerusalem District Court instead set the hearing for 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Netanyahu told the judges shortly after the hearing began that he would need to leave at 11:15 a.m. for the Mossad ceremony. He returned at about 1:20 p.m., nearly an hour later than expected. Asked by the court for an explanation, Netanyahu said he had been required to hold “serious meetings” at the Mossad and that the overall security situation was sensitive.
The hearing ultimately lasted about two and a half hours, as Netanyahu’s cross-examination in Case 2000 entered its final stretch.
The case centers on Netanyahu’s conversations with Mozes ahead of the 2015 election. Prosecutors allege that the two discussed a corrupt exchange in which Netanyahu would help advance or support steps to weaken Israel Hayom, Yediot’s main competitor, in return for more favorable coverage in Yediot Aharonot and on Ynet.
Netanyahu is charged in Case 2000 with fraud and breach of trust. Mozes is charged with offering and promising a bribe. Both deny wrongdoing.
Netanyahu allegedly exploited his power to gain favorable coverage
Prosecutor Yonatan Tadmor focused Tuesday on Netanyahu’s account of a December 2014 meeting with then-coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin and then-Knesset Committee chairman Yariv Levin, held shortly before one of Netanyahu’s meetings with Mozes.
According to the prosecution, Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff and later a state’s witness, testified that the possibility of advancing a softened version of the so-called Israel Hayom bill was raised at the meeting.
Netanyahu previously acknowledged such a meeting in his direct testimony, but on Tuesday said he had since been told that it did not take place on that date.
Tadmor asked how that had become clear only in the middle of cross-examination. Netanyahu did not give a direct answer, saying he had believed at the time of his earlier testimony that the meeting had occurred.
Tadmor noted that the date was also supported by Levin’s diary. Netanyahu said he did not remember the details and argued that, in any case, advancing such legislation on the eve of an election would have been impossible.
Tadmor challenged Netanyahu’s explanation that he had been trying to prevent Mozes from carrying out what Netanyahu has called a hostile takeover of his coalition, arguing that the Knesset had already been dissolved and that no bill could realistically be advanced at that stage.
Netanyahu responded that his goal was to prevent Mozes from moving against Israel Hayom, including after the election. He said Mozes may have believed there was still a way to act before the election, and that Netanyahu wanted to clarify the facts while keeping open the possibility of dealing with the matter after the vote.
Tadmor argued that Netanyahu wanted Mozes to believe he had checked whether the softened bill could be advanced, so as to make Mozes think he was fulfilling his part of the alleged understanding.
“You wanted him to know that you had done your part,” Tadmor said.
Netanyahu rejected the claim. “I went to check the facts,” he said, adding that he wanted Mozes to understand that there was no route to pass such a bill before the election.
When Tadmor suggested that Netanyahu had created a false impression for Mozes in order to keep receiving favorable coverage, Netanyahu said he had not been candid with Mozes because he was trying to block the law, not advance it.
“If I was trying to please Mozes, why would I come down on him so hard?” Netanyahu asked.
Tadmor questions PM on past contacts with Mozes
Tadmor also questioned Netanyahu about his past contacts with Mozes over coverage in Yediot Aharonot and on Ynet. Netanyahu said he remembered one instance in which he approached Mozes over coverage connected to his family, but did not remember using Harow, businessman Arnon Milchan, or Dov Eichenwald of Yediot Books to reach Mozes.
Tadmor said Netanyahu had told police that he had sent Harow to Mozes many times over political coverage. Netanyahu replied that Harow may have contacted Mozes, but that he had not followed each approach closely.
Asked why Harow, rather than Netanyahu’s spokespeople, would have handled such contacts, Netanyahu said he did not want to “open the taps” with Mozes. He said he contacted publishers from time to time on matters he considered important to the state, and that his primary reason for keeping contact with Mozes was to protect Israel Hayom.
The hearing took place against the backdrop of ongoing regional tensions, with President Isaac Herzog’s offer to host plea-bargain talks still on the table.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He denies all wrongdoing.