Netanyahu Defense Celebrated Too Soon: What Really Happened During Mandelblit's Testimony

The first day of testimony by former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu initially appeared to yield significant gains for the defense. Mandelblit's admissions regarding instances where he later regretted not approving investigations, and his confirmation that some of these involved serious matters, were seized upon by Netanyahu's legal team. Defense attorney Amit Haddad used these points to highlight perceived police failures, which had been a recurring theme in the trial.

However, the defense's momentum reportedly faltered when Haddad shifted focus to the specific approvals Mandelblit granted for the investigations at the heart of the case. The article suggests that while the defense achieved a "media win" in the morning by highlighting Mandelblit's retrospective criticisms of investigative shortcomings, this did not translate into a decisive legal advantage regarding the core issue of his approval of the investigations themselves.

The day concluded without the "smoking gun" the defense may have sought concerning Mandelblit's decision-making process for authorizing the probes. While the defense secured some tactical victories and media attention, the article posits that these did not fundamentally undermine the prosecution's case on the crucial matter of the Attorney General's approvals.