The evidence phase in Netanyahu's trial after the elections: Hearings 3 days a week

February 22, 2021   

The court ruled that the evidentiary phase in Netanyahu's trial will not begin until about two weeks after the elections. Enter: Registration for daycare for the 2012 school year is moving online Food stamps: When will they be distributed? Who is eligible for assistance? How much money do you receive? The hearings will open on April 5 and will be held three times a week - on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 09:00 to 15:30. The judges did not address the issue of the Prime Minister's presence in the hearings. However, the panel of judges in the Prime Minister's trial rejected the request by Netanyahu's lawyers to drop the charges against him, claiming that investigative steps were taken in the matters without the Attorney General's approval as required by law. The judges rule that although it appears that a defect occurred in the lack of written approval from the attorney general for the investigation, it appears from the documents and evidence presented by the prosecution that this is a procedural defect that does not get to the root of the matter and certainly does not justify dropping the charges at this stage.

""There is no basis to substantiate the defendant's claim to quash the indictment now," the judges wrote.

However, they added that at the end of the entire procedure and after hearing the evidence, they will consider whether there is justification to exclude evidence in cases 1000 and 4000 due to lack of admissibility.

 In the last court hearing, Attorney Boaz Ben-Tzur, defense attorney for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, argued that the prosecution did not receive the Attorney General's approval to open an investigation against the prime minister in the manner required by law. Ben-Tzur reminded that this is a requirement that appears in the Basic Law. "There was contempt on the part of the accuser (the prosecution) regarding what was done here. How is the accuser trying to dwarf this law, the duties imposed by law? They are trying to diminish the magnitude of the violation and therefore diminish the meaning of the law." "The Basic Law sets out a simple provision - the government will not open a criminal investigation against the prime minister except by decision of the Attorney General. It is the duty of the Attorney General to approve the opening of a criminal investigation against the prime minister. On the other hand, it is a constitutional right, both of the prime minister and the public, that a criminal investigation against the prime minister not be opened without the Attorney General's approval," the lawyer added. According to him, "In case Alef, there is no authorization from the attorney general to investigate. There is authorization to investigate a completely different matter. "This is a categorical matter. In Case 4000, there is a fragment that does not refer to the investigation of Case 4000. There is a fragment on which the investigation that was conducted independently by the Securities and Exchange Authority, which investigated the case for months without the approval of the Attorney General, cannot be hung.".