Clash Erupts in Netanyahu Trial Over Evidence Collection

Haddad claimed that in July 2017, a senior official in the Israel Securities Authority investigation unit ordered the retrieval of materials from the email inboxes of Shaul Elovitch and Benjamin Netanyahu without Mandelblit's knowledge. Haddad presented documents that the defense argues were obtained without the Attorney General's approval and in excess of search warrants. Mandelblit testified that he was unaware of any unlawful evidence collection, stating he made his decisions under the assumption that the evidence presented to him was legally gathered, though he expressed full confidence in the prosecution and doubted they would intentionally hide information.

The argument escalated when Haddad accused the prosecution of trapping Mandelblit, telling prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh that he understood her distress because this was "the case of her life." Tirosh retorted that her family was her life, adding that the prosecutors were simply doing their jobs and were not the defendants. After Tirosh accused Haddad of insolence and presenting a distorted picture of the facts, Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman suspended the hearing and summoned the lawyers to her chambers. The proceedings resumed after the brief recess.