Israeli prosecution denies documents in Netanyahu's defense during corruption trial

The prosecution counsel in the corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticized by the Jerusalem District Court for not passing case files to the defense counsel, the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

According to the prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh as cited by the media, the documents could not be passed to the defense due to third party privacy concerns. However, Judge Rivkah Friedman-Feldman found the justification insufficient and said the prosecution had lost the defense's confidence in its vetting process.

Meanwhile, the defense counsel needs the requested documents to prove that Walla communications CEO Ilan Yeshua intervened with news coverage to support other politicians and power-brokers, and not just to clear Netanyahu of corruption allegations.

Netanyahu has been under investigation on suspicion of using government powers to manipulate media coverage and taking expensive gifts from billionaire friends.

In the court proceedings, several disputes have ensued between the prosecution and defense counsel over the transfer of necessary documents. Last year, the state prosecution turned over six new documents to Netanyahu's defense team, claiming that it previously didn't know the documents existed. (ANI/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )