Netanyahu Indictment Includes 333 Potential Witnesses

Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has delivered his indictment of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the Knesset, the country’s parliament, revealing new information, including where the trial will be and the number of witnesses for the prosecution. The reason for the delivery, erroneously being referred to by some news outlets as the indictment’s official submission – which will not take place until it is submitted to a court – was to make the document available to a committee of lawmakers who might discuss a potential request by Netanyahu for parliamentary immunity. The indictment makes known the venue of the trial, which will be Jerusalem, although the charges, which involve actions that took place in Tel Aviv, the country’s financial capital, could have warranted a trial there, too. In addition, it lists 333 witnesses the prosecution could call on to make its case. Judging from some of the names, they include people close to Netanyahu, meaning hostile witnesses, although other names belong to people who were once his allies before falling out with him. Among the potential witnesses are US casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, businessman/philanthropist Ronald Lauder and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.