Former MK Eitan Cabel Testifies in Netanyahu Trial Over Case 2000
Former MK Eitan Cabel testifies in the Netanyahu trial under Case 2000, detailing the controversial print press bill involving Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes.
Former Knesset member Eitan Cabel is testifying today (Monday) in the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Jerusalem District Court. Cabel is taking the stand as part of Case 2000, which centers on alleged conversations between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes. In this case, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust, while Mozes is accused of offering and promising a bribe.
Cabel himself was previously questioned under caution during the Case 2000 investigation, though the case against him was eventually closed. This marks Cabel's second day of testimony in the trial, after being summoned by Netanyahu's defense team.
The indictment details how Cabel sponsored a private member bill aimed at promoting and protecting the print press in Israel, which sought to mandate a minimum price for any widely circulated daily newspaper. The legislative proposal was widely seen as targeting the free-distribution daily Israel Hayom while directly benefiting its main competitor, Yedioth Ahronoth. The bill was submitted in March 2014 and tabled in the Knesset in May.
In October of that year, at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, Cabel requested that the Knesset secretariat bring the bill to a preliminary vote in the plenum without prior discussion by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Although the vote was initially scheduled for October 29, 2014, Cabel ultimately asked to postpone it, allowing the bill to be routed through the ministerial committee.
In early November, the ministerial committee discussed the bill and granted cabinet ministers freedom of voting. On November 12, 2014, the Knesset plenum approved the bill in its preliminary reading. However, the legislation never advanced further, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni on December 2, 2014. Days later, a bill to dissolve the Knesset was passed, sending the country to early elections.
