Netanyahu Judges: We Advised Prosecution to Drop Bribery Charge

The judges trying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption case confirmed that they had suggested the prosecution consider dropping the bribery charge against him, releasing a summary Thursday of a conversation with the prosecution and defense lawyers.

The summary verifies a prior leak to the media that the three-judge Jerusalem District Court panel had proposed retracting the charge against the prime minister, who is also charged with fraud and breach of trust.

Last week, Israel's Channel 13 News reported that the judges presiding over Netanyahu's trial had conveyed to representatives from the prosecution that they anticipated difficulties in proving the bribery charge in Case 4000.

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“At the meeting, it was felt that the remarks were made with the necessary caution,” the summary, which was released with the consent of both sides, stated. The document was of a conversation held in the chambers of the case's presiding judge, Rivka Friedman-Feldman.

“The holding of the meeting stemmed from the sensitivity of the issue, and none of those present expressed reservations or asked that minutes be recorded,” the judges noted.

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In response, a representative told the judges that the prosecution sees things differently, and added that only a partial picture of the case has been presented thus far. However, the representative added that she would pass along the judges’ message to her superiors.

Also noted in the summary was that, on the sidelines of the meeting, there was a short discussion with the two sides about the need to end the trial “for the good of the matter and of the country.” The issue was raised without any connection to how the legal proceedings would end, or what the results of the trial would be, the judges noted.

In response to a request by the prosecution for additional hearing days on the trial schedule, the judges said that this would only be done following the upcoming scheduled recess in the court system – meaning that no hearings in the Netanyahu case will be held during this period.