What is the Gun Threatening the Judges in the “Thousands Cases”?

Yossi Baum tweeted the following:

What is the Gun Threatening the Judges in the “Thousands Cases”?

The judges are attempting to apply significant physical pressure on the defense to expedite Netanyahu’s testimony. Before this, the judges—through an act that stirred the nation—refused to reduce the frequency of his testimony, despite the war. As someone closely following the judges, this seemed strange.

Here’s the likely explanation:

• According to estimates, before Netanyahu’s testimony, the trial was expected to continue until the end of 2027 or even 2028 (see Grintzayg’s article on Channel 7).
• After progressing through part of Netanyahu’s testimony, the calculation has inflated. From an estimate of about 80 trial days to about 120 trial days. That’s an additional 16 weeks, approximately four months. Meaning: the reasonable estimate now is that the case won’t conclude before April-May 2028.

• And this doesn’t take into account the possibility of further delays that might arise. And all this, of course, refers only to the first court instance, excluding appeals and so on.
• And here’s the crux of the matter: The head of the panel, Judge R.F.P., is set to retire on March 7, 2028, according to her Wiki page. This means the case must conclude a reasonable time beforehand. If not—and it now seems increasingly likely that it won’t—the case collapses, as it won’t be possible to replace a judge at such an advanced stage. It’s also reasonable to assume that the last thing a judge wants to leave behind as her “legacy” is the collapse of perhaps the most dramatic case in the country’s history.
• For the defense, as well as for the prosecution, which are both unwilling to compromise despite the judges’ demands, this might be the best scenario: the trial concludes, and each side can ostensibly declare victory. If this is inconvenient for the judges? Let them deal with it.
• There’s another possibility, one likely more favorable to the defense: the judges might start breaking the case into pieces. For instance, issuing a formal decision that there is no bribery in Case 4000. And so on. Such decisions, if made, would corner the prosecution even further into some compromise regarding other parts of the case.

Bottom line: The tight schedule the judges are under works primarily in favor of the defense. We will live and see how and where the story unfolds.