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Ilan Yeshua at the Jerusalem District Court for a court hearing in the corruption case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, April 7, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
The evidentiary stage of Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial entered its third day Wednesday, with key prosecution witness Ilan Yeshua, the former CEO of the Walla news site, continuing his testimony describing an alleged a quid pro quo deal that gave the prime minister positive news coverage in exchange for regulatory benefits.
In the third straight day of his testimony, Yeshua said it was the “norm” for nominees for senior positions at Walla, including editor-in-chief, to be examined and approved by site owner Shaul Elovitch and the prime minister’s associates Ran Baratz and Nir Hefetz.
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel s military correspondent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, enters a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in his corruption trial, April 5, 2021. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)
“The split screen,” in its Israeli context, originally referred to an infamous, surreal 2002 television broadcast in which news coverage of a deadly terror attack in Jerusalem was aired directly alongside an ongoing Haifa-Kiryat Gat soccer match.
But on Monday the term applied to the still surreal, but far less macabre, media coverage of the opening of the evidentiary stage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, which was intercut with the broadcast of his political allies seeking to convince the president to give him first crack at forming a ruling coalition after last month’s inconclusive elections.
Ilan Yeshua, former CEO of Walla news, to continue testimony in evidentiary phase of graft trial; says he was directed to alter coverage for premier in quid pro quo deal
On day 2 of testimony, Yeshua describes effort to hide PM s alleged quid pro quo timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ex-CEO of top news site: Skewed coverage of Netanyahu was part of quid pro quo timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.