Netanyahu denounces ‘police state’ trial as cross-examination ends after over a year

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday claimed his associates have likened the prosecution to the former East Germany’s “Stasi,” and accused them of conducting a political trial like that in a “police state,” during an outburst in court, as his cross-examination in his criminal trial ended after over a year of hearings, amid repeated delays.

Judges shortened Tuesday’s hearing to 2:30 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m., as the prime minister requested to leave early on apparent diplomatic and security grounds. On Wednesday, the next stage is set to begin, in which Netanyahu’s defense lawyers will ask follow-up questions in their redirect examination.

Tuesday’s hearing centered on Case 2000, in which the premier is charged with fraud and breach of trust over allegations he planned an arrangement with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes under which Netanyahu would receive favorable media coverage from the publication and, in return, advance legislation to weaken Yediot’s rival newspaper Israel Hayom in 2014.

That paper, bankrolled by now-deceased American billionaire Sheldon Adelson and previously considered very pro-Netanyahu, is handed out for free and has seriously hurt Yedioth’s circulation figures over the years.

The bill, which would have required newspapers to charge a minimum price, passed the first of three readings in the Knesset in November 2014, apparently catching Netanyahu off guard.

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Weeks after the bill was advanced, in December 2014, Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset, ushering in new elections and thwarting any efforts to further advance the legislation. The agreement with Mozes was never implemented.

During Tuesday’s examination, state attorney prosecutor Yehonatan Tadmor asked Netanyahu to explain his statements to investigators in Case 2000, questioning his version of events. During a line of questioning in court, Netanyahu denied that he was interested in Yedioth Aharonoth’s coverage of him.

Tadmor then presented Netanyahu with a quote from his police questioning, in which the prime minister told investigators that he is in “the middle of a war” and has to “buy time.”

“He already took the Knesset from me; now I have to think about how I fight him. What I’m doing in the upcoming election campaign,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying, referring to Mozes.

Netanyahu told Tadmor that by “buy time,” he was referring to the “slander against the [Netanyahu] family,” to which the prosecutor responded, “As in, coverage?”

“This isn’t coverage; it’s slander,” Netanyahu insisted, saying his treatment in the media was “beyond the pale.”

Tadmor also quoted Netanyahu about his description of his relationship with Mozes with the line, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” and as a “cold war as opposed to a hot war.”

“Noni Mozes is a political rival with very hostile tools all the time, and even with them, there needs to be a certain limit,” Netanyahu responded, adding that Yedioth Aharonoth had “crossed the line” ahead of the 2015 elections.

He claimed he used the phrase, “Keep your friends close…” because he wanted to “contain” his “war” with the newspaper so that it would not “breach” acceptable boundaries and attack his family.

Tadmor then questioned Netanyahu over the defense’s claims that prosecutors intentionally filed an indictment against the prime minister while he was visiting Washington, sparking an angry outburst by the premier.

“You are collecting targets! You will spend your whole life in court! There has never been anything like what you did to me! This is shameful. What you did to me, you haven’t done to any other public figure! You brought everyone into a network of intimidation and terror! Everyone I speak with says to me, what are you, a police state? Stasi? What you did here is bring Netanyahu’s head; you caught nothing! What we have here is political persecution like a police state!”

“You can speak politely, but you didn’t catch anything. It is a shocking injustice,” Netanyahu declared. “You criminalized every connection. I couldn’t think it was bribery. What you are seeing is Mozes acting in his interests, not in the public interests.”

Tadmor has repeatedly put it to Netanyahu that he was coordinating with Mozes to pass the Israel Hayom bill, while Netanyahu, for his part, insists that there was no such arrangement and that he opposed the legislation.

Netanyahu has sought a pardon from President Isaac Herzog, who insisted on negotiating a deal with the prosecution. Last month, however, the Kan public broadcaster reported that Herzog had “frozen” his efforts due to the premier’s failure to respond to the initiative.

The President’s Office said in response that the report was “incorrect,” without elaborating. But Herzog acknowledged that Netanyahu had not responded to his proposal when he called on the prime minister to “come into the room.”

Herzog’s offer to broker a plea deal may not be relevant for much longer, since Netanyahu’s testimony is set to end shortly. Netanyahu’s pardon request is based on the claim that it is in the public interest that the prime minister not be burdened with spending entire days testifying in court, but if he no longer needs to attend court hearings, the pardon request would become moot, as would Herzog’s mediation offer.

Netanyahu’s testimony, which began on December 10, 2024, has been beset by numerous delays, with the premier frequently asking for hearings to be canceled or cut short.

His cross-examination began in June 2025, fully five years after the trial opened.

Netanyahu is on trial in two other cases in addition to Case 2000.

In November 2025, he concluded his testimony in Case 1000, in which he is suspected of fraud and breach of trust for having accepted large amounts of luxury goods from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan in return for the prime minister assisting him in obtaining a long-term US visa and in merging the Keshet and Reshet television networks.

In Case 4000, Netanyahu is accused of authorizing regulatory decisions that financially benefited telecommunications mogul Shaul Elovitch — who at the time was the controlling shareholder of the Bezeq telecom company — by hundreds of millions of shekels, in exchange for positive coverage from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

Netanyahu is the first sitting prime minister to go on trial in Israel. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claims that the cases against him are a witch hunt and a political coup attempt fabricated by his opponents.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.