Bibigate — to be continued

While a Jerusalem district court that convened Sunday ordered Netanyahu to enter his plea by October 18, the first witness won’t take the stand until January 2021, allowing defense attorneys time to scour more than several hundred legal files and prepare for a deluge of over 300 witnesses.

Once testimony begins, the court will meet three times a week — a compromise between Netanyahu’s attorneys who requested twice-weekly sessions and prosecutors who asked for four times per week. At that pace, the trial is expected to last three or four years.

“This wasn’t just procedural — it’s a matter of how much political time Mr. Netanyahu will enjoy before either exoneration, conviction, or a plea bargain,” said Gad Barzilai, former dean and vice provost of the University of Haifa Faculty of Law, who has a novel theory as to how Netanyahu might ultimately be able to end this case on his own terms.

Netanyahu faces charges in three different cases, ranging from fraud to breach of trust and bribery. He is expected to plead not guilty. All along, Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, claiming there is a political witch hunt to hound him from an office that voters keep returning him to, time and again.