Court denies Netanyahu request to postpone testimony in corruption trial
Jerusalem District Court judges told lawyers for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu they would not delay the beginning of his testimony in a corruption trial.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) during a Knesset session in Jerusalem on June 24, 2024. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL
Netanyahu, who is due to begin giving testimony on December 2, sought a 10-week postponement with his attorneys citing the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
“We were not convinced that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred which would justify a change to the date we set in our [original] decision,” said the ruling. The judges added that the December 2 date, which was scheduled in July, already took into consideration “all relevant factors, including the state of war.”
The Prime Minister faces charges of fraud, accepting bribes, and breach of trust stemming from three separate police investigations. Netanyahu denies all charges of wrongdoing and has insisted in the past that the trial would not interfere with his public responsibilities.
In the case of the “Gifts Affair,” Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting $200,000 in gifts from Hollywood Arnon Milchan in exchange for helping the billionaire obtain a visa to work in the US, and changing certain tax provisions to benefit Milchan.
In the second investigation, known as the “Yediot Affair,” Netanyahu allegedly helped Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon Mozes by advancing regulations on the distribution of newspapers to Mozes’s advantage. In exchange, Mozes is accused of providing favourable coverage to Netanyahu — who was the Communications Minister at the time —.
The third investigation is the “Bezeq Affair,” in which Netanyahu — also as Communications Minister — gave regulatory benefits to the Bezeq telecom giant. In return, Bezeq’s majority shareholder, Shaul Elovitch, gave Netanyahu favourable coverage on the Walla News site, which he owns.
No serving Israeli Prime Minister has ever been indicted on criminal charges. Ehud Olmert stepped down in 2008 ahead of his own indictment for corruption. Olmert was eventually convicted and served two-thirds of a 27-month prison sentence.
