"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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The first mission for Netanyahu's defense team is to try and convince Mendelblit and his staff to avoid indicting the prime minister in three different cases of alleged corruption in which he is a suspect, or at least reduce the charges.

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As the meeting began, Caspi said, "There is material that can change the way things seem. The issue of clemency or a plea bargain is not on the table."

Hadad added, "We will present the evidence we are all familiar with, as well as new evidence. We are certain that when we are finished presenting our side, there will be no option other than to close the case. We believe in the hearing process. We are not talking about a deal. We believe that in the end, all three cases must be closed."

A brief overview of the cases:

In Case 1,000, Netanyahu is suspected of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly accepting bribes in the form of presents worth some 700,000 shekels ($200,000) from two wealthy businessmen. The hearing is scheduled to review the charges in Case 1,000 on Monday.

In Case 2,000, Netanyahu is suspected of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly conspiring with the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Arnon "Noni" Mozes, to limit the circulation of Israel Hayom in exchange for favorable coverage in the former publication. The charges are scheduled to be reviewed on Sunday.

The most serious charge against Netanyahu is bribery, of which he has been accused in Case 4,000, which involves allegations that Netanyahu traded financial benefits for the Bezeq telecommunications corporation for positive coverage of him and his family when he held the communications portfolio. The charges in Case 4,000 will be reviewed on Wednesday and Thursday.

Netanyahu's defense team has already scored a small victory. Shortly before Rosh Hashanah, Mendelblit announced that he had agreed to their request to extend the hearing from two days to four, which would allow his attorneys time to present all their arguments.

After the hearing, all the officials involved in all the cases will meet to examine the merits of the defense and determine how they affect the overall legal picture. When the hearing process is complete, Mendelblit will have to decide whether or not to indict Netanyahu, in which cases and on what counts. He is expected to make his decision before State Attorney Shai Nitzan resigns from office in December.

In the prime minister's inner circle, tensions were running high ahead of the start of the hearing. Close associates were saying that Netanyahu believes that if he is given due process, he can demonstrate that the most serious allegations against him are baseless. Netanyahu is expected to argue that the decisions he made regarding the Bezeq corporation were supported by expert advisers and that they had nothing to do with his family's ties to the primary shareholder, Shaul Elovitch.

Netanyahu is not expected to attend the hearings.

If Mendelblit does decide to indict the prime minister, it could take many months before the trial begins. Netanyahu could also seek a plea deal.

If he is still in office as prime minister, Netanyahu would be under no strict legal obligation to quit. According to Israeli law, a prime minister must step down if ultimately convicted, but can stay in office throughout legal proceedings including appeals.

Netanyahu's supporters in the legislature have said they would support granting him parliamentary immunity from prosecution, but it is unclear whether there are enough lawmakers who would back such a move.

Bribery charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine. Fraud and breach of trust carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

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Following a deadlocked Sept. 17 election, Netanyahu is fighting for a fifth term in office that might confer legal immunity in three long-running cases that he has cast as a baseless and politically motivated witch-hunt.

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Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit has said he intends to file fraud and breach of trust charges against Netanyahu pending a hearing – an opportunity for a VIP suspect to argue that a trial is not in the national interest.

"After a three-year flood of tendentious, partial media leaks, the time has come for the public to hear everything, including my side," Netanyahu said in a social media video.

"I am therefore asking the attorney general to open up the hearing for live broadcast. … You know that transparency delivers the truth."

Mendelblit's office later turned the request down, saying it had no legal basis and was disrespectful of the legal process.

A hearing is a chance for a suspect to persuade legal authorities not to file charges and is not meant to persuade the public, an attorney general letter to Netanyahu's lawyers said.

"The decision of whether to file an indictment is a professional decision divorced from any public sentiment political pressure or "background noise," the letter said.

On Wednesday, the Netanyahu was tapped to try to form the next coalition government after garnering marginally more support from lawmakers than his centrist election rival, Benny Gantz. Neither commands a clear parliamentary majority.

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Officials involved in the negotiations process said, "We need to get to Oct. 2 without anything being closed. Only after Netanyahu's hearing will the Blue and White team know which way to go. Until then, the team is under instructions to drag things out. Closing things either way would be unnecessary."

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The same officials told Israel Hayom that Blue and White and the Likud were holding "urgent meetings" in part to "give the public a picture of a real desire for unity."

"That [desire] exists in Blue and White, but of course the goal is a unity government without Netanyahu, which is why orders have been given to drag things out, in the hope that he'll exit the stage, making all the talk about a rotation between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz meaningless," the officials said.

Another Blue and White official told Israel Hayom on Tuesday, ahead of a scheduled meeting with Likud representatives on Tuesday afternoon, that Gantz was being pressured by close associates ("some who are not part of the coalition negotiations") to agree to a rotation with Netanyahu despite his campaign promises not to join any government under Netanyahu.

According to a different Blue and White official, it would be "very difficult" for Gantz to break his word to the public not to enter a government with Netanyahu, but the party was trying to make it clear to him that there was a "difference between a campaign and reality."

"If he wants to be prime minister, as we want him to be, he will have to move ahead with Netanyahu and put an end to the matter. The public will be angry at first, but thank him later," the official said.

Other senior members of Blue and White said Tuesday that the party would not be satisfied with Gantz being offered the first two years of a rotating prime ministership.

"It's not enough for Gantz to be prime minister – the government has to be built on Blue and White's principles and not subject to extortion by small parties," they sadi.

When asked if Blue and White would consider a rotation in which Netanyahu would serve as prime minister before Gantz but Blue and White would lay down the guidelines of the government, one official said that such a proposal "would be given due consideration – still, Blue and White won, and Gantz should be first [in a rotation]."

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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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