Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called one of the prosecution’s central claims in Case 2000 “absolutely absurd” on Wednesday, as questioning by the attorneys for his co-defendants continued in his criminal trial, moving from Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes’s defense to that of former Bezeq controlling shareholders Shaul and Iris Elovitch.
The hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court was led first by Sharon Kleinman, Mozes’s attorney, who sought to challenge the prosecution’s contention that alleged understandings between Netanyahu and Mozes were reflected in less negative coverage of the prime minister by Yediot Aharonot and Ynet after their sixth meeting in December 2014.
“This thesis by the prosecution is absolutely absurd,” Netanyahu said when asked to respond to the claim that the coverage had shifted.
The negative coverage did not stop, Netanyahu said. “There was no break in the coverage,” he said, describing it as consistently negative.
Case 2000 centers on recorded conversations between Netanyahu and Mozes ahead of the 2015 election.
According to the indictment, Mozes offered to improve Netanyahu’s coverage in Yediot Aharonot and Ynet and worsen coverage of his political rivals in exchange for Netanyahu using his influence to promote restrictions on Israel Hayom, the free daily newspaper that posed a major economic threat to Yediot Aharonot.
Netanyahu is charged in the case with fraud and breach of trust, while Mozes is charged with offering and promising a bribe. Both deny wrongdoing.
Prosecution says Yediot, Ynet coverage skewed by corruption
Kleinman’s questioning appeared aimed at taking the prosecution’s cross-examination and pressing Netanyahu on the broader theses that emerged from it, including those not necessarily laid out as standalone allegations in the indictment but used by the prosecution to support its narrative of the case.
In practice, Kleinman sought to test whether Yediot Aharonot and Ynet’s coverage could be treated as part of the alleged benefit offered to Netanyahu, and whether any change in tone after the December 2014 meetings supported the claim that a corrupt understanding existed.
Kleinman told Netanyahu that after the sixth meeting, communication between him and Mozes continued for roughly another month before ending badly, and suggested that coverage had become less negative during that period.
Kleinman then presented examples of negative coverage and asked Netanyahu to respond, in an apparent effort to undermine the prosecution’s reading of the media coverage.
Netanyahu’s answer was consistent with his broader line throughout Case 2000: that Yediot Aharonot and Ynet remained hostile to him, that Mozes held significant media and political power, and that the conversations were not a corrupt bargain but part of Netanyahu’s attempt to stop or blunt legislation that would have harmed Israel Hayom.
The trial has repeatedly been affected by Netanyahu’s security and diplomatic schedule, including shortened or canceled hearing days, while the court has continued to try to move forward in a case that opened in 2020 and in which Netanyahu’s testimony began in December 2024.
The questioning later continued with Jacques Chen, the attorney for Shaul and Iris Elovitch, Netanyahu’s co-defendants in Case 4000. Chen sought to challenge the prosecution’s portrayal of Walla as a news site of particular importance to Netanyahu.
Chen referred to an internal report by former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua on traffic to the site and said that “this website was as sidelined as a website could get.”
Chen presented a graph that he said showed significantly more users entered Walla for its mail service than for its news content. The prosecution challenged its presentation in the courtroom, but Chen argued that if the prosecution’s position was that Walla was important in Netanyahu’s eyes, he should be allowed to question Netanyahu on that point.
Bezeq, Walla owners co-defendants in Case 4000, bribery, fraud, breach of trust
In Case 4000, Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust over allegations that regulatory benefits were advanced for Bezeq in exchange for favorable coverage on Walla. Shaul and Iris Elovitch are also defendants in the case and deny wrongdoing.
Netanyahu is also charged with fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000, over gifts allegedly received from wealthy businessmen. Netanyahu denies all charges and has repeatedly described the cases as politically motivated.
After the current questioning by the co-defendants’ attorneys concludes, Netanyahu’s own defense team is expected to conduct a short re-examination.