Avichai Mandelblit, the outgoing spokesman for the government, referred to his decision to prosecute Benjamin Netanyahu and explained why the plea deal failed. He also referred to the Pegasus case:
Avichai Mandelblit, the outgoing attorney general, said tonight (Monday) at a conference of the Bar Association that “the decision to open an investigation and prosecute former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was difficult from a personal point of view. I very much appreciate him.”
“There were difficult moments,” Mandelblit added. “Among the difficult moments was opening a criminal investigation and filing an indictment against Netanyahu. This is a decision that I completely agree with.”
He also referred to the failure of negotiations for a plea deal between Netanyahu and the prosecution: “I can say that my door was open and this is my policy as in other cases. I do not think a person in a certain position should be punished more than another person, so my door was always open to Netanyahu’s lawyers. I do not think there is a different attitude towards the former prime minister. “
The outgoing ombudsman also referred to the findings of the Pegasus case investigation published today: “I heard the conclusions of the Merari committee, I did not fall off the chair. The central question is whether things were done by order of a judge. I know the exception in the case of Pilber, so I decided to set up the Merari Committee. “