Netanyahu's corruption trial may be moved to mediation

At the suggestion of a defense lawyer involved in the prime minister's bribery charge, a mediating judge may be assigned if the AG agrees, removing the case from the Jerusalem District Court and conducting closed-door proceedings in an effort to arrive at a plea bargain deal
Tova Tzimuki, Gilad Morag|
PrintFind an error? Report us
Related Topics
Benjamin Netanyahu
Judicial overhaul
corruption trial
Jerusalem District Court
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
An attorney in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial on Thursday, suggested the proceedings be moved to mediation to decide whether Netanyahu received a bribe, according to a report.
<< Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter >>

2 View gallery
בנימין נתניהו בבית המשפטבנימין נתניהו בבית המשפט
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in on trial for corruption
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
The prime minister's legal counsel did not reject the proposal off-hand, a respectable television host and journalist Ilana Dayan said. Dayan presents a weekly investigative program on Israel's most-watched channel 12.
The parties to the trial are now awaiting a decision from Attorney General Gli Baharav-Miara in the matter and if she agrees, the case would be removed from the Jerusalem District Court and decided in a criminal mediation proceeding.
Discussions have been taking place behind closed doors in front of a District Court judge with no minutes recorded.
After being indicted for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in 2019, Netanyahu's trial has been ongoing since it began in April 2021 and only a small part of the witnesses have been heard.
2 View gallery
משפט נתניהו תיקי האלפים משפט נתניהו תיקי האלפים
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defense team in court during his trial for corruption
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky )
In January of last year, Netanyahu and his lawyer Boaz Ben Tzur discussed a possible plea deal with the former attorney general and although it did not come to fruition, the prime minister's team said they were optimistic a deal could be agreed upon.
Should criminal mediation be accepted, it would be carried out by a judge who was not seated in the proceedings thus far and will be kept secret. If both sides agree with the conclusion of the mediating judge, they would still have to return to court and receive the agreement of the panel which has been deliberating Netanyahu's case.
The clear advantage would be the removal of the public eye which would make compromise and agreement more possible since Netanyahu's trial is extensively reported and has captured the interest of many Israelis who follow it closely.
Evidence presented in a mediation process would not be admissible in court, should the sides fail to agree, in which case the trial would resume.
12Comments
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
5.
Bibi's Trail
The trail against Bibi is in and of itself criminal. An enormous travesty of justice (and all should not forget the abominable treatment of the State witnesses). These very big ugly words: Fraud! Bribery! Breach of trust! Media "bribery? !? What is it? He never got positive media coverage! And for cigars and champagne?! And all should not forget when AG Mandleblit came out (before elections using these very ugly big words- while Natanyahu was in the States signing the historic Abraham Accords).
guest| 04.02.23
00
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
4.
And you call this a legal system????
I doubt you can find another country which begins a trial in 2021 and still has it ongoing in 2023. The prosecution and judges in this case are really a joke. Why is it taking so long? Did Olmert wait this long for ahis trial to end? Perhaps this type of delay could be subject to "reform", but reform to create dictatorship should be rightfully rejected.
Mikesailor| 03.31.23
50
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
3.
This is the obvious next move
Basically exonerate him. Once that happens then he may back down from the Judiciary changes that he is trying to ram through. He should be imprisoned however, he is wiley and smart and knows how to work the system to his advantage. Israel should just cut her losses, let him off the hook and move on before he destroys the country to protect himself. We have a similar criminal here in the US...Joe Biden.
Doron| 03.31.23
13
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
Load more talkbacks
""