After a Year and a Half, Netanyahu’s Testimony in His Trial Is Set to End Next Week

The prosecution in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial completed its cross-examination of the prime minister in today’s hearing (Tuesday) in the so-called thousand cases. The prime minister’s testimony is expected to conclude next week, after a small number of hearings for redirect examination by his defense attorneys. That will bring to a close testimony that stretched across 96 hearings and began in December 2024.

In today’s hearing, Netanyahu was questioned by Deputy State Attorney Yonatan Tadmor about his meeting with Sheldon Adelson in December 2014, when two days later he met with Noni Mozes. According to Netanyahu, the central topic was the possibility of selling Yediot Aharonot.

Tadmor argued that the main consideration was the approaching elections and the need "to keep Mozes from being in attack mode." Netanyahu again emphasized that the subject was the purchase attempts, and that coverage in Yediot Aharonot did not concern him.

The prosecution tried to challenge the prime minister and noted that in his police questioning, Netanyahu said he needed to buy time until the election campaign. It was also argued that Netanyahu recorded Mozes but did not reveal the recordings because they involved a bribery offer מצדו של Mozes. The prime minister firmly denied this.