And in our case, not only is the "Ben-Zaken-Azoulay" axis significantly preferable to the prosecution's thesis, but it was the prosecution – the very same prosecution – that provided it in the indictment when it described a series of "independent" actions carried out by Ben-Zaken and Azoulay (independently of the defendant and without his knowledge), actions for which they were both convicted.
Second, during the course of the investigation, a great deal of evidence was collected, including e-mail correspondence between the various people involved, text messages exchanged, phone call outputs, many dozens of testimonies, and wiretapping conversations made to Ben-Zaken over a period of one month during the relevant period. The fact that no direct evidence was found speaks for itself.
Third, although I am prepared to accept, and I also determined in the chapter dealing with the characterization of the partnership between the defendant and Ben-Zaken, that the defendant was informed of the difficulties that arose in the transfer of the drilling rights to Shemen and regarding various actions taken (such as hiring the services of Adv. Caspi or holding a meeting with representatives of Noble Energy), I do not see how this determination can constitute a sufficient basis for a concrete determination regarding the defendant's awareness of the "Ben-Eliezer-Mimran" conversation. It should be noted that just as the defendant was aware of the difficulties in transferring the rights, so were many other elements in Shemen and outside it, and just as it is not possible to conclude from the knowledge of those parties about their awareness of the "Ben-Eliezer-Mimran" conversation, so it is not possible to do so with respect to the defendant.
Fourth, both during the trial and in the parties' summaries, a dispute arose over the question of whether the defendant was exposed to an email sent by Adv. Liron Mizrahi (a member of the Petroleum Council) in which she detailed her change in position in such a way that she sought to approve the transfer of the rights in the drilling license from ACC to Shemen [section 20(c) of the indictment].