“We have to finish this,” said Judge Moshe Bar-Am.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The combined corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed Monday after a break of over two months due to the high holiday season and the outbreak of war against Hamas, with lawyers for the defense and the justices saying the time has come to finish the proceedings.

Jacques Chen, attorney for Shaul and Iris Elovitch in what is dubbed Case 4000, asked that the case only be heard twice a week, as he has been on active duty in the reserves since October 7. Part of his legal team was also called up by emergency orders, he added.

To shorten the time spent in court, he said that he sent his prosecutorial colleague a list of six witnesses of the 22 to be called in who could be made redundant.

In addition, he estimated that the testimonies of the rest can be completed within 15-16 hearings, so “it is possible to advance the trial by hearing it two days a week.”

The prosecution said it could wrap its side up by January in the Elovitch case, and estimated that another month or at most two would then be needed for to present the state’s position in the other two, Cases 1000 and 2000.

It was unclear whether the prosecution included in its estimation the time the defense will need for cross-examining those witnesses, nor their possible recall to the stand by the state as a result of the cross-examination.

The defense will then present its own side in the three cases, with its witnesses being cross-examined by the prosecution.

Although he and his two fellow justices have not decided yet whether to agree to Chen’s request or go the opposite route and have the proceedings four days a week, Judge Moshe Bar-Am commented, “We have to finish this.”

The trial has been ongoing, in fits and starts, over the last four years. It is being resumed as the Justice Ministry’s emergency order restricting trials to emergency cases due to the war has expired.

Case 4000 contains the most serious charge, bribery, against Netanyahu, as he is accused of ensuring that the government provide regulatory favors to Walla and Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch to the tune of hundreds of millions of shekels, in return for favorable news coverage on the Walla news site.

In Case 2,000, Netanyahu is suspected of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly agreeing to help Yedioth Ahronoth owner Noni Mozes regain market share for his newspaper by passing a law that would hurt his main competitor, Israel Hayom, in return again for more positive news coverage. This may be considered a weak case, as Netanyahu has pointed out that his government torpedoed the law.

In Case 1,000, the same charges apply for Netanyahu having allegedly received hundreds of thousands of shekels’ worth of champagne, cigars, and jewelry for his wife from two billionaire friends, one of whom, Arnon Milchan, allegedly sought and received help from the prime minister in certain business and private affairs. Netanyahu and Milchan have both said that the expensive items were just gifts with no strings attached to them.

Minister in the Justice Ministry David Amsalem slammed the restart Sunday, posting to X, “War? Hostages? Evacuees? Economy? Not at all. What’s most important now is to renew Netanyahu’s trial and distract the prime minister with absurd testimonies and delusional trifles…. This is a disgrace like no other.”

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Iris Elovitch, wife of Bezeq and Walla owner, in a conversation said she’s “willing to sell my soul to the devil for the group.”

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

A key witness in the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified in court Tuesday that she was ready to “sell my soul to the devil,” Kan News reported.

Known as “Case 4000” or the “Bezeq-Walla Affair,” Shaul Elovitch and his wife Iris are accused of conspiring to provide positive news coverage of Netanyahu and his family on the popular Walla News website, at the time owned by Elovitch, in return for political favors from Netanyahu to push legislation favorable to the Bezeq communications company, of which Elovitch was the major shareholder.

In a recorded conversation played in court, Iris Elovitch was heard in a conversation with Walla News CEO Ilan Yeshua saying she was ready to do anything on behalf of her husband’s two companies.

“I told Shaul that for the group (Bezeq-Walla) I am ready to sell my soul to the devil,” Iris Elovitch told Yeshua.

In further conversation, the two are heard discussing how the Netanyahu family constantly checked the Walla website for news about them.

Yeshua testified about the difficulties of having to refrain from publishing negative articles about the Netanyahu family, only to be confronted later with a reaction to a negative story about them published elsewhere.

“There was a routine that if there is an investigation into the prime minister, then do not publish,” Yeshua said. “We become absurd, that if there is a response, the response should be published, and I ask – how can a response be published without the [first] article?”

Iris Elovitch’s lawyer, Michal Rosen Ozer, asked to speak after hearing the recordings were played, pointing out that the prosecution had left out key statements from Iris Elovitch that she told Yeshua to make sure that news coverage of the Netanyahus was objective.

“It cannot be that the prosecution stops it [the recording] a moment before Iris speaks of objective headlines,” Rosen Ozer told the court. “Later in the conversation Iris says – ‘The headlines should be objective, interesting, but objective.'”

Yeshua’s testimony will end Tuesday and defense attorneys are expected to ask for several weeks to prepare for their cross-examination of Ilan Yeshua, which requires court approval, but judges are likely to approve a certain period of preparation time, Kan reported.

In a court appearance in February, Netanyahu pleaded not guilty. With mountains of evidence yet to be presented, the trial is expected to take up to three years.

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The owner of Israel’s main telecommunications company and a former aide to the prime minister were released from prison with restrictions concerning Case 4000.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Two main suspects in the police probe dubbed Case 4000 were released Sunday from custody after 15 days of imprisonment and questioning over alleged corrupt activities at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shaul Elovitch, owner of Bezeq, Israel’s telecommunications company, and Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu’s former media adviser, were released to house arrest for 10 days. They are not allowed to leave the country for six months and are prohibited from talking to any of the other suspects in the case for three months.

This follows the five-hour-long, initial interrogation of the prime minister and his wife in separate locations on Friday regarding their alleged roles in the case.

After being questioned, Netanyahu published a post on his Facebook page, saying, “A moment before Shabbat begins, I’d like to tell you that I feel confident that there won’t be anything” – similar to previous statements he has made concerning the other graft cases against him.

He added, “I’d like to tell you—the millions of Israel who have voiced such strong support of me, my wife and my family—something else: you warm our hearts.” He was likely referring to polls showing that if elections were held today, he would win.

The prime minister projected a “business as usual” demeanor as he flew on Sunday to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House and address the annual conference of the pro-Israel lobbying organization, AIPAC. The main points to be discussed, he said before take-off, are Iran’s “aggression, its nuclear aspirations, and its aggressive actions in the Middle East in general and on our borders.”

Case 4000 centers on suspicion that as owner of Walla! News, Elovitch pressured his CEO, Ilan Yeshua, to arrange positive coverage of Netanyahu on the news site in exchange for the prime minister working to advance regulations that would benefit Elovitch in his role as Bezeq’s main shareholder. Sara Netanyahu is alleged to have pressured Elovitch’s wife, Iris, regarding the news coverage.

The Netanyahus denied any wrongdoing on their part.

The former director of the Communications Ministry, Shlomo Filber, agreed over a week ago to become a state’s witness against Netanyahu.

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