Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled testimony in Case 4000, involving alleged regulatory favors to Bezeq telecommunications company in exchange for positive coverage on Walla news website, was canceled for Tuesday after his defense team raised concerns in a closed-door chambers discussions with the judges during Tuesday's hearing, citing "state affairs." It was unclear if this was related to recent reports on progress made in talks with Hamas over a hostage deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared Monday for his third testimony in Case 4000, focusing on allegations that he granted regulatory benefits to Bezeq's former controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for favorable coverage on the Walla news website.
The hearing was interrupted when defense lawyer Amit Hadad requested to cancel Tuesday's scheduled testimony. The matter was discussed behind closed doors after prosecutors agreed to handle the request privately, leading to the cancellation. During testimony, Netanyahu rejected allegations about his involvement in media coverage requests. "No one approached them on my behalf," Netanyahu said, referring to requests allegedly made through his associate Zeev Rubinstein to former Walla! CEO Ilan Yeshua and Bezeq owner Elovitch.
"I could have called Elovitch directly, not because of any understanding with him, just as I would call Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken or Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Moses," Netanyahu said. He suggested Rubinstein might have acted either independently or on behalf of Netanyahu's wife, who "was not necessarily, to put it mildly, familiar with campaign nuances."
The defense team announced plans to examine all 315 items constituting alleged requests for coverage. "These charges, forming the basis of bribery allegations, were never presented to me during investigations," Netanyahu told the court. "They have ruined people's lives, harmed my family and an entire country." Netanyahu particularly objected to allegations about his involvement in coverage requests regarding Naftali Bennett, arguing such interference would have contradicted his campaign strategy. "We wanted to differentiate Bennett from Likud, particularly after his statements supporting disobedience regarding settlements," Netanyahu said. "I thought it was terrible then, and even today, calls for refusal to follow orders from right or left are a danger to the state's existence."
The prosecutor team, including senior prosecutors Yehudit Tirosh and Alon Gildin, closely monitored the testimony. When discussing messages allegedly sent to media outlets during the 2013 election campaign, Netanyahu presented evidence of Likud's official messaging strategy, arguing many alleged interference requests would have undermined his campaign's message about establishing a strong national government.
