Israel Court Rejects Netanyahu Request to Delay Trial

Post by : Bandanpreet Kaur

Photo: Reuters

An Israeli court on Friday did not allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay giving his testimony in his corruption trial. This decision came even after former US President Donald Trump asked for the case to be canceled.

Netanyahu’s lawyer asked the court on Thursday to give him a break from the hearings for the next two weeks. He said Netanyahu needed time to focus on “security issues” after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

However, the Jerusalem district court said his request did not have enough strong reasons to stop the hearings. The court said the request did not give a detailed explanation for why the hearings should be canceled.

Earlier, Trump called the corruption case a “witch hunt.” He said the trial should be canceled right away or Netanyahu should be given a pardon. Trump also called Netanyahu a “Great Hero” for his actions during the recent war with Iran, which ended on June 24 with a ceasefire. Netanyahu thanked Trump for supporting Israel during the war.

Netanyahu has said many times that he did nothing wrong. His supporters say that the trial is just political and meant to hurt him.

In one case, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting gifts like cigars, jewelry, and champagne worth more than $260,000 from rich businessmen in return for political favors. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of trying to make deals with two Israeli news companies for better news coverage about him.

Since he became Prime Minister again in late 2022, his government has brought in many plans to change the court system. Critics say these changes are meant to weaken the courts so that they cannot act freely.

Netanyahu has already asked the court many times to delay his trial since it began in May 2020. He asked for delays because of the Gaza war in 2023, later fighting in Lebanon, and now the recent conflict with Iran.