Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cross-examination in his trial ended on Tuesday after about a year and nearly 100 court hearings since he first took the witness stand. The cross-examination began in June 2025, following the main examination that started in December 2024.
Netanyahu is still due to be questioned again by his defense team for three or four more days. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to be questioned first by lawyers for Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Noni Mozes, and then by attorneys for former Walla owner Shaul Elovitch. After that stage, his testimony will conclude.
The next phase will be the defense case, after which closing arguments will be submitted in the case, including expected oral summations. During today’s testimony, Netanyahu raised his voice at prosecutor Yehonatan Tadmor, now deputy economic state attorney, saying, “You did what you did to no public figure, and you used spyware, that is what you did in a campaign to topple a prime minister. You violated all the laws.”
Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman asked him to stop, but he struck the table and replied, “I am allowed to say it! Everyone says this is a police state! Stasi! Political persecution!” Since Netanyahu’s testimony began, about two-thirds of the scheduled hearings have not taken place, mostly because of defense requests. During that period, two rounds of fighting with Iran also took place.
