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Netanyahu Defense Celebrated Too Soon: What Really Happened During Mandelblit's Testimony
Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit testified on Sunday 11 October 2026 as a defense witness in the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Jerusalem District Court. Mandelblit, who indicted Netanyahu in 2019, admitted under questioning by defense attorney Amit Haddad that police had conducted some investigative actions without his prior approval or knowledge. He acknowledged that "improper actions were certainly taken regarding state witnesses" and described an interrogation tactic used against state witness Nir Hefetz as improper and incorrect.
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What happened
- 01Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit testified as a defense witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial on Sunday 11 October 2026.
- 02Mandelblit admitted that police conducted several investigative actions without his prior knowledge or approval, some of which he described as serious.
- 03He confirmed he ordered the immediate cancellation of an unapproved wiretap on former Netanyahu chief of staff Natan Eshel.
- 04Mandelblit acknowledged that improper actions were taken regarding state witnesses, calling the interrogation tactics used against Nir Hefetz improper and incorrect.
- 05He admitted he had not reviewed the 315 specific examples of alleged media bribery cited in the Case 4000 indictment.
- 06Prime Minister Netanyahu and several coalition politicians, including Gideon Sa'ar, attended the Jerusalem District Court hearing to support the defense.
- 07Following the testimony, the Likud party demanded an immediate halt to the trial, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called for a presidential pardon.
- 08Commentators noted that while the testimony provided a media victory for the defense ahead of the October 27 elections, it was unlikely to legally derail the trial.
Mandelblit also revealed that he had ordered an immediate halt to the wiretapping of former Netanyahu aide Natan Eshel after learning of the unapproved action, which had infuriated him. Under questioning regarding Case 4000, Mandelblit admitted he had not reviewed the 315 specific examples of alleged media bribery cited in the indictment and was unaware of the defense's claim that no one had been investigated for those incidents. He explained that he did not order investigations into the police's improper tactics to avoid disrupting the high-priority investigation into the prime minister.
Netanyahu attended the hearing, declaring that "the truth is coming to light," and was accompanied by several coalition politicians, including Gideon Sa'ar. Following the testimony, the Likud party demanded an immediate halt to the trial, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana urged a presidential pardon. While the defense celebrated the admissions as a public relations victory ahead of the upcoming October 27 elections, legal analysts and commentators, including Channel 13 anchor Raviv Drucker, downplayed the testimony's potential to legally dismantle the prosecution's case or lead to a dismissal of the charges.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 14 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Maariv. Read Maariv’s original
The coverage
23 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- Left2
- Centre4
- Right7+2
- Haredi3
- Arab2
- Other5
