Former attorney general says he did not approve every step in Netanyahu probe

Former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit testified on Sunday in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial at the Jerusalem District Court.

Netanyahu is accused in three cases of fraud and breach of trust, and in one case also of bribery.

Mandelblit told the court he had not approved every police investigative procedure, and said he once ordered an unapproved wiretap canceled.

He also said he had not reviewed all 315 examples of alleged media bribery listed in the indictment in Case 4000.

Mandelblit maintained that he had approved opening an investigation into Netanyahu as required by law.

After the testimony, senior Likud officials called for the trial to be canceled and for an inquiry into how the investigation was conducted.

The trial has been underway since Netanyahu was indicted in January 2020, and the testimony did not bring it to an end.