Jerusalem Court Judges Maintain Recommendation to Drop Bribery Charge Against Netanyahu

On June 29, 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared at the Jerusalem District Court for the ongoing 'Case of the Thousands.' Following his testimony, the judges overseeing the trial reaffirmed their recommendation to remove the bribery charge from the indictment against him. Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham cited difficulties in substantiating the bribery offense in the first charge, suggesting the state consider withdrawing this specific allegation. However, the prosecution expressed a differing view on the matter.

The judges had previously indicated in a confidential June 2023 discussion with the prosecution that proving the bribery component in Case 4000 would be challenging. During the hearing, Netanyahu's defense attorney, Amit Hadad, compared the trial's intensity to the Eichmann trial, noting it is the only case with five weekly sessions so far. Hadad also highlighted the defense team's struggle, stating they had previously announced their inability to continue representation when the court shifted to four-day weeks but were compelled to proceed due to judicial orders.

Hadad emphasized the immense workload, including working on weekends and holidays, which hampers adequate preparation and witness readiness. He warned of a severe miscarriage of justice if the situation persists and requested the court to release the defense team from their duties, hoping for approval this time. He projected that the trial could not conclude before March 2028, possibly extending to September, especially after the sabbatical year (Shmita).