Judges Again Urge Prosecutors to Drop Netanyahu Bribery Charge

The judges in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial again urged prosecutors to consider dropping the bribery charge in Case 4000 after Netanyahu completed his testimony for the prosecution. Israeli and international Jewish outlets reported that the panel repeated its concern that proving bribery remains difficult, while the defense pushed back against expanding the trial schedule and warned against turning the case into a five-day-a-week proceeding. The development matters for Israel because a high-profile trial of an elected prime minister must preserve both public trust in the courts and the presumption that prosecutors can prove every charge they keep.