Ex-AG Mandelblit Testifies He Believed Netanyahu Didn't Intend to Finalize Mozes Deal

Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit testified on Monday that he had significant doubts about whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended to finalize a deal discussed with Noni Mozes, the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, in Case 2000. During his seventh day of testimony in Netanyahu's trial at the Jerusalem District Court, Mandelblit confirmed he had deliberated extensively on whether to investigate the Prime Minister in this case at all.

Under questioning by Netanyahu's lawyer, Amit Hadad, Mandelblit stated that throughout the process, he believed Netanyahu did not intend to implement the agreement discussed in recorded conversations with Mozes. However, he emphasized that even an attempt to commit bribery can constitute a criminal offense. Hadad presented documents and protocols from before the investigation, seeking to understand how the decision to investigate Netanyahu in Case 2000 was made.

Mandelblit clarified that his primary deliberation was not about Netanyahu's status as a witness or suspect, but rather the fundamental question of whether an investigation was justified at all. He explained that while a reasonable suspicion of an offense existed, his subjective assessment of Netanyahu's intentions troubled him. "Yes, certainly, it raises a reasonable suspicion. The question is what to do given that I thought all along that he did not intend to do it," Mandelblit testified.

The former Attorney General rejected the interpretation that the initial consideration was to question Netanyahu only as a witness, stating he does not recall such a decision. Prosecutor Tadmor intervened, asserting that Mandelblit had clearly explained his deliberation was based on his assessment of Netanyahu's intentions, not a lack of suspicion.

Case 2000 concerns conversations between Netanyahu and Mozes about potentially influencing the coverage of Netanyahu and his family in Yedioth Ahronoth, in exchange for legislative actions that could limit the circulation of the newspaper Israel Hayom. The prosecution alleges that Netanyahu committed offenses related to integrity, focusing on the interpretation of these recorded conversations and the participants' true intentions.

Mandelblit's testimony could be crucial for Netanyahu's defense, as it casts doubt on the prosecution's claim of a clear criminal intent, a necessary element for bribery and breach of trust charges. The defense argues the conversations were mere political discourse without intent to execute a criminal deal.