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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial has entered what is expected to be its final stage, with his defense team conducting re-examination after nearly a year of cross-examination. Netanyahu has accused prosecutors of misleading him and "setting a trap" during the questioning, while his attorneys have sought to reinforce his defense in two of the three cases against him.

Coverage Comparison

Coverage of the trial's recent developments has come exclusively from the Jerusalem Post, which has reported on the proceedings across multiple hearings. The reports describe Netanyahu's testimony as moving into its final stretch, with his cross-examination ending after 94 days of testimony, including 59 hearings of prosecution questioning that began last June. According to these reports, Netanyahu is expected to return to the Tel Aviv District Court for questioning by co-defendants' attorneys before his own lawyers conduct a short re-examination.

Key Claims

Case 1000: The Gifts Affair

In the most recent hearing, Netanyahu's attorney, Amit Hadad, focused on Case 1000, the so-called gifts affair, in which Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust. The indictment alleges that he received expensive gifts, including cigars and champagne, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels from businessman Arnon Milchan and Australian businessman James Packer, while acting in matters connected to Milchan's interests.

The defense has maintained that the relationship was one of genuine friendship rather than an improper exchange. To reinforce that argument, Hadad showed Netanyahu photographs from social and family gatherings with Milchan that predated Netanyahu's return to national politics. Netanyahu described the images as evidence of a close relationship between the two families, including during periods when he said he did not expect to return to public life.

"They eulogized me at the time and saw me as a political corpse," Netanyahu said of the period after his first term as prime minister. "And I saw myself that way too."

Hadad sought to use the photographs to counter the prosecution's suggestion that Netanyahu had always expected to return to political power, and that Milchan's access to him remained valuable even when he was out of office.

Case 2000: The Mozes Negotiations

Tuesday's hearing focused largely on Case 2000, the alleged quid pro quo between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yediot Aharonot and Ynet. According to the indictment, Mozes offered to improve Netanyahu's coverage and worsen coverage of his political rivals in exchange for the prime minister 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.

Deputy State Attorney Yonatan Tadmor pressed Netanyahu over his December 2014 meetings with Mozes and with the late Sheldon Adelson, then the owner of Israel Hayom. Tadmor argued that Netanyahu tried to convince Mozes that he would work to advance a softened version of the Israel Hayom bill in order to keep Mozes from launching a full attack against him before the 2015 election.

The prime minister rejected that interpretation.

Rebuttal Stage and the Prosecution's "Trap"

During the rebuttal stage, the questioning shifted to the attorneys for Netanyahu's co-defendants. Sharon Kleinman, the attorney for Mozes, questioned Netanyahu over the prosecution's claim that the alleged understandings between Netanyahu and Mozes were reflected in less negative coverage after their sixth meeting in December 2014. Netanyahu called the prosecution's thesis "absolutely absurd."

Earlier, Netanyahu accused prosecutors of misleading him during cross-examination. "I am a trainee lawyer in this absurd process," he told the judges. "They present me with a false picture... They set a trap, and I fall into it." He said prosecutors had caused him to give answers that could be portrayed as inconsistent, despite what he said was a clearer picture in the underlying testimony and records.

Trial Logistics

The trial has repeatedly been affected by Netanyahu's security and diplomatic schedule, including shortened or canceled hearing days. If the coming hearings are not canceled or shortened, his testimony is expected to end by the end of the month or within the next two to three weeks.