On 1 March 2011, Ben-Eliezer was hospitalized, and according to all the testimonies, he suffered the collapse of some of his body systems, his health condition was defined as being "on the verge of death", and during part of the hospitalization period he was in a coma. On 8 April 2011, after his health improved, he was discharged from the hospital.
Despite his advanced age and his handling of a complex medical condition, in May 2014 Ben-Eliezer presented his candidacy for the position of President of the State, which was supposed to take place on June 10, 2014, when the investigation began a few days before the presidential elections.
Although the prosecution sought to claim that after his discharge from the hospital, Ben-Eliezer returned to normal functioning, as learned from his run for the presidency, a variety of testimonies were presented, from which it emerged that even after his discharge from the hospital, his medical condition continued to be complex, and he required, among other things, several dialysis treatments per week and close assistance some of the time. The fact that Ben-Eliezer tried to maintain the appearance of a fully functioning person does not erode the totality of the testimonies about his medical condition (including that of defendants 2 and 3), especially since no medical opinion was submitted that contradicted those testimonies. The prosecution's claim that during this period Ben-Eliezer voted in a number of Knesset votes, spoke at a certain conference, or ran for president, is also far from indicating that his health is in good condition.
Following the investigation, Ben-Eliezer withdrew his candidacy for the position of President of the State, and at the end of the investigation, an indictment was filed in the affair that attributed to him, inter alia, receiving bribes from Defendant 2 and Defendant 3.
Both the transfer of funds from Defendant 2 (on September 26, 2011) and the transfer of funds from Defendant 3 (on January 21, 2012), which were carried out relatively close to the date of Ben-Eliezer's hospitalization, were described by Defendants 2 and 3 as having been carried out at his request, against the background of his complex health condition and his desire to move to an apartment that suited his limitations and the need for close assistance (external assistance, or of any of his family members with whom he planned to live in the same apartment).