Former Attorney-General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit has granted a wide-ranging interview to a leading Israeli journalist due to be aired on Thursday evening in the popular "Uvda" program, his first such interview.
"It's not possible to remain silent," Mandelblit states in the program's trailer, explaining why he has chosen to speak out now after years of avoiding the media.
"We cannot compromise when it comes to the independence of the judiciary," Mandelblit says in the interview, going on to reveal what he believes is behind the government's planned legal reforms.
"I think that there's a question that everyone should be asking himself," he continues. "[Justice Minister] Yariv Levin's opinions on the necessity of judicial reform are nothing new. However, for years Netanyahu did not appoint him as Justice Minister. Why has he now chosen to do so? My assessment and my opinion is that Netanyahu wants to arrive at a point where his trial will not conclude in an orderly manner."
It was Mandelblit in his capacity as attorney-general who made the decision to indict Prime Minister Netanyahu in three corruption cases. Now, in this exclusive interview, he describes what happened behind the scenes of Case 2000, how the Prime Minister responded when he told him that he was opening a criminal investigation against him, and what he believes lies behind the decision to advance a sweeping package of judicial reforms.