Netanyahu's Lawyer Spars With Former AG Mandelblit in Court

During the seventh day of testimony in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial, lawyer Amit Haddad engaged in sharp exchanges with former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. Haddad, representing Netanyahu, accused Mandelblit of evading questions and mocked the similarity in wording of investigation warnings. The confrontations led to interventions from the judges and prosecution.

Haddad pressed Mandelblit on who was responsible for the wording of warnings given to Netanyahu during interrogations. Mandelblit stated he held overall public responsibility but did not recall personally drafting every specific warning. Haddad retorted, "You've already escaped from a lot and you'll escape from much more. Did you draft these warnings?"

The defense lawyer highlighted the striking resemblance between warnings in different case files, suggesting a "copy-paste" method was used. Mandelblit recalled a legal discussion regarding the word "בקשר" (regarding) in one case but maintained he did not remember the original wording of another warning.

Haddad also questioned the timing of the decision to investigate Netanyahu under caution in Case 2000, noting that investigation materials and recordings were available to police and prosecutors months earlier. He used a strong metaphor to describe the conversations between Netanyahu and Arnon Noni Mozes, which prompted an objection from the prosecution and a brief removal of Mandelblit from the courtroom.

Further clashes occurred over the wording of a warning in Case 2000. Mandelblit conceded the presented warning wording was unsuitable for the investigation into the conversations with Mozes. Haddad argued it was a "dirty trick by the police" and questioned if Mandelblit had approved it, with Judge Moshe Bar-Am expressing surprise at the accusation. Haddad also criticized Mandelblit's alleged memory difficulties regarding the approval date for investigating the Prime Minister.