Ex-AG Mandelblit to Testify in Netanyahu Trial

Avichai Mandelblit, the former Attorney General who indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is scheduled to testify on Sunday in the ongoing trial at the Jerusalem District Court. Mandelblit's testimony is a key event in the defense's stage of the trial, as they aim to question the timeline and scope of his approval for investigations against Netanyahu. Specifically, the defense seeks to clarify when Mandelblit authorized the opening of investigations and whether certain actions exceeded his approval or occurred prior to it. They also plan to question him about an affidavit he submitted to the High Court of Justice and the interrogation methods used with state witness Nir Hefetz.

The approval for the investigation's opening was reportedly given verbally, a detail that has drawn criticism from the judges during the proceedings. The prosecution, however, maintains that Mandelblit did approve the investigation and its subsequent actions. This testimony comes nearly seven years after Mandelblit announced his decision to indict Netanyahu.

Mandelblit, now dean of the law faculty at Ono Academic College, had requested to postpone his testimony until November or December due to the upcoming academic year, but the court denied this request. In the political and legal spheres, MK Moshe Saada predicted Mandelblit would appear "startled, frightened, and terrified," anticipating that Netanyahu's lawyer, Amit Haddad, would strategically build his questions. Mandelblit's past remarks, revealed in recordings from Channel 12, have added to the anticipation. In those recordings, he made sharp comments about former senior legal officials Dina Zilber and Shai Nitzan, and also told Netanyahu's investigators in 2016 that they were starting a "completely different investigation" into matters he had not approved.

Mandelblit later clarified that his comments about Nitzan were made out of personal anger and did not affect his professional decisions. The prosecution argues that his remarks to investigators referred to proposals to expand the probe, not actions already taken without approval. The defense has requested seven hearing dates for Mandelblit's testimony, with proceedings expected to begin with the defense's questioning, followed by a cross-examination by the prosecution.