Netanyahu renews his request to the District Court to postpone his testimony on corruption charges for two weeks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his request on Friday to the District Court to postpone his testimony in his corruption trial for two weeks.
Earlier on Friday, the court and the Public Prosecution announced their rejection of his request, meaning he will appear again in court next Monday.
Israeli Army Radio reported that “Netanyahu is again requesting to postpone his testimony in his trial for the next two weeks, adding a secret document detailing his expected schedule”.
The Israeli Army Radio reported that Netanyahu asked the court to reconsider its decision.
On Thursday, Netanyahu asked the District Court to postpone his trial for two weeks, claiming he wanted to devote his time to other issues following Israel’s aggression against Iran, including the return of Israeli prisoners from Gaza.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted the Central Court as saying that the request doesn’t include a detailed justification or legal basis for postponing the hearings.
Attacking the prosecution and court’s decision, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a post on X, “The Attorney General’s Office and the judges of the Netanyahu government continue to insist on being small dwarves, lacking any strategic vision or understanding of reality”.
He added, “They seem determined to help us draw public attention to the devastating and dangerous corruption that has swept through the judiciary and the urgent need for reform”.
Smotrich continued, “I support the prime minister in continuing to manage Israel’s security and political situation”.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also attacked the court’s decision, calling it a disjointed and miserable decision.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi also attacked the decision, saying on X, “They live in their own world, isolated… What a shame!”
In turn, Avichay Boaron, a member of the Knesset for Netanyahu’s Likud party, said, “The prime minister must simply inform the court and the state prosecution: My duty to the state and the national interest outweighs the need for four more evidentiary hearings, and I’ll not be coming in the next two weeks”.
For several months, Netanyahu has appeared in court twice a week to respond to the charges against him, but the hearings were interrupted during the aggression against Iran, which began on June 13 and lasted 12 days.
On Thursday, Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for calling for the cancellation of his corruption trial, which sparked widespread controversy and polarization in Israel. Netanyahu’s supporters supported the move, while the opposition called on Trump not to interfere in the legal process taking place in Israel.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which could lead to prison if convicted.
Last January, Netanyahu’s interrogation sessions began.
He denies accusations of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in the so-called “1000,” “2000,” and “4000” cases.
The attorney general filed an indictment related to these cases in late November 2019.
The Case 1000 concerns allegations that Netanyahu and members of his family received expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for facilitating and providing assistance to these figures in various fields.
In Case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of negotiating with Arnon Moses, publisher of the private newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, to obtain positive media coverage.
The more serious Case 4000 concerns the alleged facilitation of favors to the former owner of the Walla news website, Shaul Elovitch, who was also an executive at the Bezeq telecommunications company, in exchange for positive media coverage.
