Court Orders Prosecutors to Amend Netanyahu’s Indictment

By Staff, Agencies

The occupied al-Quds District Court on Monday rejected a demand by Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attorneys to cancel the criminal charges against him due to issues with the filing process, but ordered prosecutors to amend the indictment in one of three cases he was charged in.

The judges said “quite a few details are missing” from the indictment in Case 4000, which they said are “material and relevant to the defendants’ defense.”

The case involves suspicions that Netanyahu granted regulatory favors benefitting Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Bezeq telecoms, in exchange for positive coverage of the prime minister and his family from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

The judges instructed prosecutors to significantly amend the indictment to clearly distinguish Netanyahu from his family members, as well as Elovitch from his wife, Iris.

Netanyahu’s lawyers complained that he in many cases was grouped with his family in supposed demands from Elovitch to make various changes in Walla’s coverage. They said it was not clear why Netanyahu must answer for demands allegedly made by his wife or son.

The court said prosecutors must make clear who made the demands in every case and whether the prime minister was aware of the requests or involved in them.

It also told prosecutors to provide detailed information about the contacts between Netanyahu and the Elovitches and the benefits they gave him. The premier’s lawyers had asserted that the information provided was not detailed enough.

Judges rejected a demand by Netanyahu’s lawyers to amend the charges in another affair, dubbed Case 1000.

In Case 4000, Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu also faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 as well as in Case 2000. The former involves suspicions Netanyahu illicitly accepted some $200,000 in gifts from two billionaires — Hollywood-based ‘Israeli’ movie mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian magnate James Packer.

In Case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to reach a quid pro quo with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes for positive media coverage in exchange for legislation weakening the rival newspaper ‘Israel’ Hayom.

Netanyahu is the first ‘Israeli’ premier to be indicted while in office.