Attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, who are representing Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in three cases of alleged graft, filed a request on Tuesday with Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit to open a probe to identify the source of leaks about the investigation into the former prime minister.

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"The flood of leaks from the case under discussion is unprecedented and destructive to the management of a fair trial," Netanyahu's attorneys wrote.

"The timing of the leaks creates the strong suspicion that it aimed to influence testimony in an unacceptable manner, and even lead to [witnesses] coordinating their stories," they said.

Hadad and Milstein went on to detail a series of leaks published in various media outlets prior to being presented to the defense team.

Earlier Tuesday, the court voiced criticism of the leaks, with one judge saying, "This is very serious. What will happen later if this is the situation now?"

"We cannot ignore the leaks. We expect the investigative authorities to clarify them and do everything necessary to prevent future leaks," the judges wrote.

The petition to Mendelblit came after Netanyahu made his first appearance in court in over six months as former aide Nir Hefetz prepared to take the stand against him.

Hefetz is a star prosecution witness in the case against Netanyahu, with his close proximity to the Netanyahu during several years in office a key part of the evidence. Hefetz left a long career in journalism in 2009 to work as a spokesman for Netanyahu's government, then in 2014 became the Netanyahu family's spokesman and adviser.

Netanyahu entered the courtroom Tuesday accompanied by a lawyer, his younger son, Avner, and a pair of supporters from his Likud party. The security presence around the building was much smaller than past sessions, when Netanyahu was the prime minister.

His lawyers immediately asked that Tuesday's session be delayed following reports that another witness had come forward with new evidence alleging that Netanyahu's wife, Sara, had accepted an expensive bracelet as a gift from two billionaire friends, Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.

Netanyahu's lawyers argued that the former prime minister and his wife were caught off-guard by the allegations and had the right to study the evidence before Hefetz took the stand.

After a short recess, the court accepted the request and postponed Hefetz's testimony until next Monday.

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Discussions of Cases 2,000 and 4,000 involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been postponed due to the strict lockdown, Jerusalem District Court judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham announced Friday.

Case 2,000 focuses on an illicit deal Netanyahu allegedly tried to strike with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes under which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail the activities of Israel Hayom, Yedioth's chief rival.

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Case 4,000 centers around the Bezeq telecommunications corporation and the Walla news website, which Bezeq owns. Netanyahu, who held the communications portfolio until February 2017, is suspected of having offered Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch corporate benefits worth hundreds of millions of shekels in exchange for favorable coverage of him and his family on Walla.

On Thursday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut announced that starting on Sunday and until the current lockdown ends, Israel's courts would postpone hearings for traffic, small claims, and local cases. However, judges have the discretion to decide not to  postpone a given hearing. 

Hayut also said that that litigants and lawyers who wished to postpone the date of a hearing for reasons related to the lockdown could submit such requests to the court system, and that all deadlines currently in effect would remain in effect until a decision were made otherwise. 

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The first Saturday night of 2021 opened with thousands of activists gathering protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that the long-serving leader resign over corruption charges against him and for allegedly mishandling the coronavirus crisis.

Holding signs reading "Go" and "Everyone is equal before the law," the demonstrators crowded Paris Square near the Prime Minister's Residence, where they have gathered for months to call for his resignation.

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Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three cases involving billionaire associates and media moguls. He denies wrongdoing.

But the protesters say Netanyahu cannot properly lead the country while under indictment for corruption. His trial is set to begin evidentiary hearings in the coming weeks.

Israel is set to hold its fourth national election in two years in March, what will likely be another referendum against Netanyahu as he faces a challenge from defectors within his Likud Party.

The protesters also say Netanyahu and his government have bungled the coronavirus response. The country has seen its economy hit hard by virus restrictions throughout the year and is again under a partial nationwide lockdown amid surging infection rates.

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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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"The attorney general's people are listening to us closely, and we're happy about that. We've presented documents that weren't part of the materials in the investigation," Ashkenazi said.

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"We argued for 11 hours in the hearing yesterday [Wednesday]. I think we'll need a similar amount of time today," Ashkenazi said.

Wednesday's hearing, like Thursday's is devoted to Case 4,000, the case in which Netanyahu faces the most serious potential charge – bribery. Case 4,000 centers around suspicions that Netanyahu, when serving as communications minister, gave the Bezeq telecom giant enormous financial benefits in exchange for favorable coverage of him and his family on the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

After Wednesday's hearing, Netanyahu's defense team issued a statement in which they announced: "We have laid out very detailed materials that are supported by considerable evidence that contradicts what the list of possible indictment counts claims. The attorney general listened to us. We hope and believe that nothing will remain of those counts, and the cases will be closed."

A message sent out on behalf of Netanyahu said, "The prime minister's attorney, who prepared their answers for the hearing very thoroughly, made a series of arguments supported by considerable evidence, some new."

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"I think the highest judge is the voter," Feiglin told i24NEWS host Nurit Ben. "In a democracy, the one who decides … are civilians."

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"If Netanyahu will be elected," Feiglin continued, "even though everybody knows what he is facing … it means that the people of Israel want that man."

Feiglin insisted that Netanyahu should not be ousted based on an impending indictment and accused a "small minority of people" of abusing the law to take down Israel's democratically elected leader.

Pushed by i24NEWS about the integrity of the judicial system, Feiglin argued that it's not about the "law, it's about the decision to use it against somebody because of a political agenda."

Earlier this week, Feiglin announced that his party would not run in the upcoming general election in September, as part of a deal that could see him assume a ministerial position in the next government.

The former Likud party lawmaker is considered to be on the far right of Israeli politics but has mixed libertarian policy proposals into his Zehut party platform that include free-market reforms, lower tax rates, and less strident laws on cannabis use.

As part of their agreement, Netanyahu has promised to ease restrictions on cannabis for those in need of medical care if reelected.

"As you well know, I made a promise Zehut would run in this [election] round even though no one could have predicted this important opportunity. I feel a moral obligation to bring this deal for approval from all of you through an organized survey of party members," Feiglin said in an appeal to his party.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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The preliminary hearing had been scheduled to take place no later than four months after investigation documents pertaining to the cases were released to the defense, or sometime before July 10.

Mendelblit had agreed, at Netanyahu's request, that the evidence not be released before the April 9 Knesset election due to the concern that they would be released to the media for political purposes.

But Netanyahu's attorneys had complained that they have not yet been paid for their services and therefore require more time to retrieve the evidence and prepare their defense.

In a letter to Netanyahu's legal team made public Sunday evening, Mendelblit ruled out a postponement of the hearing date writing that their payment is not under the purview of the attorney general and does not justify a delay.

Mendelblit also set a May 10 deadline for the defense to schedule a date for the pre-indictment hearing.

"The issue of the fees," Mendelblit said in the letter, "does not justify any delay in transfer of the most important material to the prime minister or his lawyers and in any event does not affect the date of the hearing."

On February 28, Mendelblit announced his intent to indict Netanyahu for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three criminal corruption investigations that have plagued the longtime premier for years.

Netanyahu was slapped with the most laden charges – bribery, fraud and breach of trust – in Case 4,000, in which police suspect that Netanyahu granted regulatory benefits to telecommunications giant Bezeq in exchange for positive news coverage by the Walla news website, which is owned by Bezeq's controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch.

He faces fraud and breach of trust charges in the other two cases, known as Case 1,000 and Case 2,000.

In Case 1,000, Netanyahu is suspected of accepting illicit gifts from a number of wealthy benefactors in exchange for political favors and preferential treatment.

Case 2,000 centers on a quid pro quo arrangement with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to limit circulation of the newspaper's main rival in exchange for more favorable coverage.

Netanyahu has slammed the announcement of his indictment pending a hearing as a "witch hunt" orchestrated by the media and the Left in order to topple him and has vowed that he will not step down even if brought to trial.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right allies have confirmed ahead of cabinet negotiations with the newly re-elected premier that it would propose as part of its legislative agenda a measure granting automatic immunity from prosecution to all sitting Knesset members.

The legislation, if passed, would shield the prime minister from indictment while in office.

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

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