Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit on Monday informed Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein that the trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take place in the Jerusalem District Court.
The letter sent by the Justice office to Edelstein states that a list of prosecution witness names included in the indictment. Starting today Netanyahu has 30 days to apply for immunity.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
The A-G sent the letter in response to procedural objections by Netanyahu’s lawyers who said the 30-day clock could not start until Mandelblit decide which court Netanyahu would be tried, and the complete list of witnesses against him.
The list of 333 prosecution witnesses includes, among others, 122 police and securities authorities, Ministers Gilad Arden, Yariv Levin and Ze’ev Elkin, number 2 in Blue and White Yair Lapid, State Witnesses Ari Haru, Nir Hafetz and Shlomo Filber, Adv. David Shimron, businessmen Arnon Milchan, James Packer and Ron Lauder, former Chief of Defense Systems Tamir Purdue and Yuval Diskin and many others.
Two weeks ago, Mandelblit announced that he had decided to indict Netanyahu for offenses of bribery and fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000 (Bezeq-Yes case), and for fraud and breach of trust in files 1000 (Gift Case) and 2000 (Netanyahu case). He allegedly committed these offenses during his tenure as Prime Minister and Minister of Communications.
In a statement to the media, Mandelblit said “it is not a right or left issue” and that he made the decision “with a heavy heart – but wholeheartedly, out of a deep commitment to the rule of law and to Israeli citizens.” He added: “This is not a political issue, but the duty that is imposed on us and me personally. This is not a choice. It is a duty to indict. This is the case for every citizen, and so I acted here.”
