The Jerusalem District Court on Monday rejected a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block the screening of The Bibi Files, which includes leaked footage of his interrogation by police between 2016 and 2018 on suspicions of corruption that have since yielded charges.
“Drucker has for years made cynical, instrumental use” of Netanyahu’s corruption interrogation to hurt him politically, the complaint alleged, describing the journalist as self-declared “political opponent” of Netanyahu.
“The fact that the publication is set to take place abroad makes no difference in this matter,” the complaint added.
It was unclear how an Israeli court could block an overseas screening. Appended to the request was a September 3 article in the Ynet news site about the film.
The Bibi Files features never-before-seen footage from the investigation of Netanyahu, as well as his wife Sara, son Yair, friends, associates and household staff.
According to Variety magazine, the recordings were leaked to American director Alex Gibney last year.
The report added that the recordings, consisting of thousands of hours of interviews, have not been screened locally or abroad, due to Israel’s privacy laws.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing in the cases against him and claims that the charges were fabricated in witch hunt led by the police and state prosecution, and facilitated by weak attorney general.
