Retired Deputy Commander Tzachi Havkin, a former Lahav 433 investigator and member of the teams that handled Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cases, testified Wednesday in Netanyahu’s ongoing trial.

Havkin was summoned to the witness stand following the testimony of former Police Internal Investigations Department (PID) investigator Dubi Shertzer, who revealed that Havkin was the police officer who had approached him in real time to report illegal and improper actions that took place during the Netanyahu investigations.

During his testimony, Havkin described a deep sense of frustration with then–Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, admitting that the investigation exceeded the scope of what had been officially authorized.

“In 2016, when I headed a division in Lahav 433, I was upset about the very limited approval we received. It felt like we were being sent to chase things that had no substance, so we started asking broader questions than we were permitted to.”

Havkin also criticized the interrogation methods used against state witness Nir Hefetz: “Bringing in someone unrelated to the case just to pressure a suspect—that’s improper.”

Another striking moment in his testimony concerned the questioning of Ilan Yeshua. Netanyahu’s attorney, Amid Hadad, asked why Yeshua, who had allegedly been part of the wrongdoing, was not interrogated as a suspect under caution.

Havkin replied, “That bothered me too. I remember exactly where I was and who was with me when it happened. A person admits to being part of an offense and is questioned in an open interview—that troubled me. I even told my superior, Yoram Naaman, about it at the time.”

He noted that in a previous case, he had been criticized by the court for conducting an open interview under similar circumstances.

Havkin further testified that investigators knew there was an issue with the date of the so-called “guidance meeting”—where Netanyahu allegedly instructed Shlomo Filber to favor Bezeq—but that the matter was never examined.

Before Havkin’s appearance, the prosecution tried to block his testimony, claiming it had been caught off guard by Shertzer’s revelations. Prosecutors requested to pause the proceedings for consultation and even considered asking for a supplemental investigation. However, the court rejected the request, and the testimony proceeded as planned.

Shertzer’s statements appear to confirm multiple claims of improprieties made in recent years about Netanyahu’s cases, but previously vehemently denied by officials in the State Attorney’s Office. During court hearings, the trumped-up claims against Netanyahu have fallen apart, with multiple claims disproven or withdrawn.

MK Moshe Saada, former deputy and acting head of the PID, responded to the report by stating, “What just happened in the courtroom where the prime minister’s trial is being held is nothing short of an earthquake. During my tenure, a senior source—a former head of the Netanyahu investigations team—approached me, offering shocking information about crimes committed by police investigators in the Netanyahu cases.”

“When I sought to open an investigation into the investigators and verify the information, the prosecution prevented me from doing so, refused to grant immunity to the source, and after the affair became public, even claimed that no such source existed—that it was all a lie. Today, the truth has come to light.”

“In court, the identity of the source—whom the prosecution claimed did not exist—was exposed. Havkin will testify about the crimes of the investigators, the crimes of the prosecution, and the effort to silence the truth solely to harm the prime minister.”

“The Netanyahu cases were born in sin and must be buried disgracefully. As for the crimes of the prosecution and the police investigators—those must be investigated immediately,” Saada concluded.

Likud MK Tali Gotliv stated, “The top officials in the State Attorney’s Office lied—and today that’s an established fact. MK Moshe Saada, wise and courageous, reported in real time to PID head Bar Menachem that a senior police officer had approached him with information about wrongdoing in the Netanyahu investigations. Bar Menachem refused to investigate only because it involved Netanyahu’s cases. The State Attorney’s Office denied the story existed.”

“Today, in Dubi Shertzer’s testimony, he confirmed that a deputy commander came to him and reported misconduct in the Netanyahu investigations—and Bar Menachem refused to investigate. When it’s Netanyahu, they don’t investigate. This is political persecution on steroids—and it’s terrifying.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)