After a week’s postponement, this morning (Monday) State witness Nir Hefetz appeared at the witness stand in the Jerusalem District Court, and began to testify against opposition chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, who Hefetz was his spokesman and close adviser for years while he was prime minister.
Regular updates from the discussion:
09:28: Tabenkin asked Hefetz to explain what his role was as head of the national information campaign. Hefetz: “This is a position that is subject to a CEO’s decision. He is accepted as a CEO. This is a position that is appointed by a government decision. Of the Government of Israel.
Tabenkin: “Can you point out what issues of spokespersons you dealt with?”.
Hefetz: “Everything in everything. Both in everything related to his position as prime minister and in everything related to his family.”
09:24: Hefetz introduces himself: “I am 56 years old, most of my years I was an editor at the Yedioth Ahronoth group. In 2009 I moved to work as a civil servant as communications adviser and head of the national information department of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2014, I returned to work with Prime Minister Netanyahu, first as a private communications consultant on their private affairs. “
Hefetz continued: “When the 2015 election campaign broke out, I was also appointed communications adviser at the Likud-led primaries headquarters and then director of the Likud party’s information headquarters. “Even when I was not in the job because a relationship had already been established. Today I am a lawyer.”
09:20: Attorney Adv. Amir Tabenkin presents the state witness agreement to the court and mentions that it is under a restraining order.
09:15: The judges entered the Hall of Commerce Committee began.
08:59: Netanyahu enters the courtroom and joins his lawyers. Likud members Amir Ohana, Shlomo Qarai and Galit Distel Atbrian came to support him.
08:57: Nir Hefetz came to court.
Hefetz, who was a very close adviser to the Netanyahu family, is a state witness in the 4000 case (Walla-Bezeq case), in which Netanyahu is accused of bribery. According to the indictment, Netanyahu provided former Walla website owners Shaul Alovich with regulatory benefits worth more than NIS 1 billion in exchange for responding abnormally to the family’s requirements regarding coverage on the website.
Hefetz’s testimony, which is expected to be heard today in the Jerusalem District Court, is of great importance to this trial. This is due to Hefetz’s closeness to the Netanyahu family at the time when the offenses are attributed to him, as well as the fact that he holds many recordings from that time, which may serve as important evidence at trial.
Hefetz’s testimony was scheduled to begin last week, but the court granted Netanyahu’s lawyers’ request and postponed its start to today following the leaks of the investigation materials published in the media. In their decision, the judges ruled: “It is not possible to go over the agenda on the leaks.”
Netanyahu’s attorneys addressed Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit yesterday, demanding that he order the opening of a criminal investigation into the leaks from the investigation. In a request from Netanyahu’s lawyers, Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, it was claimed: “There is at least two pieces of evidence that show that the leaks to the media, from the completion of the investigation, came from the prosecutor’s office.”
.