Netanyahu trial: Mandelblit takes the witness stand for the eighth time

Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will testify for the eighth time in the Netanyahu trial. The judges have limited the scope of his questioning. In his previous testimony, he confirmed investigation failures and revealed why he ordered the wiretapping of Nathan Eshel to be stopped.

The trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues at the Jerusalem District Court. Today (Monday), former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will take the stand for the eighth time, and Netanyahu's defense attorney, Adv. Amit Hadad, will continue his questioning. Last Wednesday, the judges, by a majority of two to one, ruled to keep Mandelblit's testimony and questioning within the scope of his approvals only and not to expand it further. The defense will be able to present investigation failures and arguments that serve its claim of "defense from justice" through other witnesses and evidence later. In his previous testimony, Mandelblit confirmed that he gave approvals to investigate Netanyahu under caution and to open an examination and investigation in all cases – Case 1000 (the gifts case), Case 2000 (the Mozes-Netanyahu conversations case), and Case 4000 (the Bezeq-Walla case). He also confirmed that there were failures in the investigation, such as the investigative tactic involving the associate of Nir Hefetz, the state's witness, in a case designed to pressure Hefetz. Mandelblit also confirmed that he ordered the wiretapping of Nathan Eshel, an associate of Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu, to be stopped while he was a suspect, despite a court order authorizing wiretaps, out of fear that the wiretapping would spill over into political matters.