Netanyahu Ends Testimony in 4000 Case After 18 Months

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in the so-called “cases of the thousands” ended on Wednesday, bringing to a close his renewed cross-examination in Case 4000 after about a year and a half. The session finished earlier than expected, after Netanyahu received an envelope during the hearing and left the courtroom.

At the end of his testimony, Netanyahu addressed the judges and argued that the use of Pegasus spyware on “hundreds and thousands” of people could not happen in a democracy. “We are not in a police state,” he said. He called the practice “ugly, false, and evil,” and said it was aimed not only at harming privacy rights but also at undermining the public’s right to choose him as a leader.

Netanyahu told the judges that the only way to restore justice was to expose the truth. “If the truth and justice can be brought, then I ask you to bring the truth and justice, because the 10 years cannot be returned,” he said. The testimony marks the end of a long phase in the Case 4000 proceedings.