Mandelblit resumes testimony as Netanyahu defense presses on investigation approvals

Mandelblit, who authorized the investigations and later approved the indictment, testified for the defense. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, questioned him about what he permitted police to examine.

Former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit arrived at the Jerusalem District Court on Monday to resume his testimony in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial, as the defense continues to question whether investigators acted within the approvals he gave them.

Mandelblit, who authorized the investigations and later approved the indictment, testified for the defense. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, questioned him about what he permitted police to examine and which investigative steps required his further approval.

On Sunday, Mandelblit said he had ordered police to stop wiretapping Netanyahu confidant Natan Eshel after learning of the operation. Although investigators had obtained a court warrant, he said the sensitivity of listening to someone closely involved in the prime minister’s personal and political affairs required them to seek his approval beforehand.

The hearing later turned to the preliminary examination that developed into Case 1000, which concerns expensive gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer, and actions he allegedly took to benefit Milchan.

Hadad challenged whether investigators had expanded their inquiries beyond what Mandelblit authorized when they questioned Milchan’s assistant, Hadas Klein, and Packer’s driver, Yonatan Hasson, about gifts.

Mandelblit maintains investigators did not need to return to him for approval

Mandelblit maintained that their questioning fell within his broader permission to examine suspicions that Netanyahu received substantial benefits from businessmen. That permission remained in place, he said, and investigators did not need to return to him for approval of every individual action.

Judge Moshe Bar-Am questioned how investigators were meant to distinguish between steps covered by that authorization and those requiring further consent. Mandelblit said the subject he had approved set the boundaries, while significant developments required further consultation.

Netanyahu’s trial, which began in May 2020, concerns three cases involving alleged gifts and dealings with media owners. He faces fraud and breach-of-trust charges in all three and a bribery charge in Case 4000, concerning alleged regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for intervention in Walla’s news coverage. He denies wrongdoing.