The trial in Case 4,000 against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued in the Jerusalem District Court on Monday, with state witness Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu's former media consultant, testifying.

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Case 4,000 entails the most serious charges against Netanyahu, including one of bribery. The former PM is accused of allegedly offering Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in the Bezeq telecom giant, legislative benefits potentially worth millions in exchange for positive coverage for himself and his family on the then-Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

Hefetz was asked about one instance from 2016 in which Walla ran an item about Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, visiting an IDF unit. After the item was published, the Netanyahu's allegedly asked that the images included be edited, a request that was reportedly handed on through Elovitch and his wife.

When asked by the prosecution to characterize the alleged incident, Hefetz called it "unusual."

The prosecutor also asked Hefetz about another instance in which he submitted a press release titled "An event with Sara [Netanyahu] today at Tel Aviv University." Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua reportedly responded "I'm putting it up right away on the homepage and adding a nice video."

The prosecutor asked Hefetz to what extent concern about personal information concerning himself being made public played a role in his decision to turn state's witness.

"There were physical and other pressures that increased to monstrous proportions," Hefetz described.

"There's no doubt that the collected conditions I was living under in the first few weeks [of the case] had an influence. It's like an operation and general anesthetic. You exercise your judgment and do what your lawyer tells you to. I felt weak in the head and in my body. Toward the end of the 15^th day I felt able to think for myself and I started to consider it," Hefetz said.

After returning from recess, Hefetz began testifying in Case 2,000, at the center of which are alleged negotiations between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth owner Arnon (Noni) Mozes for more flattering coverage of Netanyahu in that newspaper in exchange for him promoting a law that would limit the distribution of Israel Hayom as a free daily.

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On April 4, attorney Liat Ben-Ari, chief prosecutor in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial, gave the prosecution's opening argument at the beginning of the evidentiary stage of the proceedings. Preparations for the argument were covered by bells and whistles by legal affairs reports, some of whom actually betray their roles and serve as mouthpieces for the prosecution. They treated it as if it were King George VI's speech at the start of World War II.

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On the morning of Ben-Ari's opening argument, I published an article that focused on the huge holes in the prosecution's basic thesis that Netanyahu had asked for unusual coverage on the Walla news site in exchange for regulatory benefits for controlling shareowner of Bezeq – which owns Walla – Shaul Elovitch. Supposedly, this was a legal precedent – the first instance of media coverage comprising an element of charges of bribery against a politician.

If you missed it, the word on which the case will survive or fail is "unusual" – whether the tradeoffs between Netanyahu and Elovitch were so unusual as to be criminal enough to be bribery. Amazingly, even before the evidentiary stage of the trial began, it was already known that the prosecution had not troubled itself to create any criteria that would determine a norm, deviation from which would cross into the area of criminality.

The prosecution and its mouthpieces in the media could always release a particularly thick smokescreen: Every time it was proven that Netanyahu had been the subject of hostile coverage on Walla (according to checks by outlets Mida, Globes, and the Seventh Eye), pundits in the studios said "It could have been worse," and that the problem  was "opening the prime minister a door to a 'leading' news site." In other words, "thanks" to the benefits that were supposedly given to Elovitch, Netanyahu had a privilege that was not limited to other politicians.

On Tuesday, during the cross examination of former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua, it turned out that the prosecution had gone so far as to hide evidence proving the close contact between Yeshua and other prominent politicians, in a way that pulled the rug out from under the thesis that Netanyahu made "unusual requests," and also exposing Yeshua's blatant lie to the court that he had supposedly not intervened in the site content when it came to other politicians.

Correspondence between Yeshua and former Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog – Netanyahu's main rival in the 2015 election – was presented, which showed that Yeshua had gone out of his way to assist Herzog. According to the material, even while he was on vacation in Hawaii, Yeshua instructed Walla's lead editor to post a headline dictated by Herzog against his then-rival in the Labor primaries, Shelly Yachimovich.

Astonishingly, by a "mistake," this correspondence arrived at the defense team only a month ago, during Yeshua's initial questioning. Judges were amazed that such dramatic evidence could have been categorized as "irrelevant" and asked the prosecution if there was any other material that had not been delivered to the defense. The prosecutor in Case 4,000, Yehudit Tirosh, responded, "I don't know how to answer." Incredible.

And that's not all: It turned out that Yeshua had held at least 14 meetings with various politicians (including Moshe Kahlon, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, Dalia Itzik, and others), but not a single meeting with Netanyahu. In other words, the "unusual" request lean toward the other side of the equation – against Netanyahu. Yeshua also confirmed that Elovitch and his wife prevented the publication of negative items about Kahlon, fearing retribution from the former minister.

Another "unusual" issue has to do with publishing tycoon Ilan Shiloah. Yeshua admitted that he had taken care to provide positive coverage of Shiloah because the latter had made hefty ad purchases on the Walla site, and was a friend of Elovitch's son. But Yeshua also had a personal reason to help him out – his son worked for Shiloah, and on Tuesday it turned out that Yeshua and his son had earned $400,000 from the IPO of Shiloh's company. In other words, flattering coverage in exchange for jobs for family and a nice sum of money.

The broader picture is becoming clear. The prosecution prided itself on having set up a battery of 40 attorneys to file the indictment against Netanyahu – but reasonable thinking by a single person would have prevented it from making a mockery of its flagship case, in what could be the most important trial in the history of Israel. The Netanyahu trail is just starting, but even now, when a major witness for the prosecution falls apart on the witness stand, along with the prosecution's basic thesis – the question arises of whether the judges will find the courage to admit that the case before them was stitched together carelessly, and continues to fray.

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"As I made it clear to the Supreme Court in the position I submitted, it is possible for a prime minister standing trial on criminal charges to continue serving if conflicts of interest are strictly regulated, preventing any possibility that he might use his authority to influence his personal or legal matters," Mendelblit said.

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Mendelblit said that if possible conflicts of interest were handled in a way that would ensure "complete separation" between "Mr. Netanyahu's serving as prime minister and the authorities granted to him by that role and his personal handling of the ongoing legal process involving him. These things have been clearly stated in a ruling by Chief Justice [Esther Hayut]."

Mendelblit went on to criticize attacks against State Attorney Liat Ben Ari.

"I reject the despicable attempts to threaten or harm the good name of those who are handling the indictment submitted. A reality in which the son of a senior prosecutor is exposed to threats because she is the prosecutor responsible for a [certain] legal proceeding is unacceptable," he said.

"We will not allow things like this. If anyone thinks that the work of this or any other prosecutor will be affected by these personal attacks, I would like to inform them that they are mistaken."

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Most details of the case, including the names of the suspects, were unavailable because of a gag order.

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But a statement by the ministry said public servants working in the unnamed defense body allegedly received millions in bribes from companies with the aim of promoting sales deals with Israel's defense establishment.

The suspects are to be charged with bribery, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering, among others offenses, pending a hearing.

The announcement comes after the ministry said last week it would serve indictments for corruption charges in a $2 billion German submarine deal that roped in close associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the country's former navy chief.

The Justice Ministry claims those accused in the submarine case personally benefited from the purchase.

Netanyahu was questioned, but not named as a suspect, in the submarine probe, known as "Case 3,000." But it sparked questions about his earnings on a related German submarine sale to Egypt.

Netanyahu has been indicted in three other graft cases for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He has denied wrongdoing on all charges.

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The case was brought to the public's attention last year in February, but only on Sunday did the Polie and the Israel Securities Authority recommended that Arison be indicted.

Arison and several executives of the company Shikun & Binui (Housing & Construction), the largest construction conglomerate in Israel, are accused of bribery, a criminal offense that has only lately been enforced among Israel's business community.

"This is a complex investigation, in which 50 suspects were interrogated and 34 testimonies were taken," the police's Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit said.

At least 19 Kenyan citizens have been arrested in connection with the investigation, which is being carried out in conjunction with the Kenyan police.

"Bribes totaling tens of millions of shekels were transferred, which generated jobs and benefits measured in hundreds of millions of shekels," the police statement added.

Shikun & Binui's business ventures in Kenya mainly involve road construction and maintenance.

Arison is the daughter of Ted Arison, who founded Carnival Cruise Lines, and was the major force behind Bank Hapoalim, the largest bank in Israel. Her personal worth is estimated at some $5 billion.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.

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