Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was filmed on Tuesday entering a side room at the Tel Aviv District Court with his lawyer, Amit Hadad, even though judges had banned contact during his cross-examination. The footage was published by Orli Bar Lev. The prosecution says the ban is still in force, while there is a dispute because the cross-examination has ended and Netanyahu is now in a re-examination phase.
According to the court's instructions, a defendant in a cross-examination may not speak with counsel, and in this case the judges issued a detailed order. They said that if there were a specific matter and the defense wanted a meeting, the sides could submit a formal request to the court, which would then examine the prosecution's position.
Hadad did file several such requests. However, Channel 13 reported that in recent weeks Netanyahu and Hadad held dozens of conversations on various matters, with Hadad advising and assisting him. Hadad denied the report, saying he acted properly and submitted requests in individual cases. No response was given on Netanyahu's behalf.
