Court rejects Netanyahu’s request for 2-week break from corruption trial

An Israeli court on Friday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, after US President Donald Trump said the case should be cancelled.

Netanyahu’s lawyer on Thursday asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needed to concentrate on “security issues” after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

In a statement, Justice Rivka Friedman-Feldman said the request, submitted by Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad, “does not present a detailed basis or reason that might justify canceling evidentiary hearings.”

Reports abounded on Thursday that Israel and the US were working on plans for a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and reach normalization agreements with further Arab countries.

Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday described the case against Netanyahu as a “witch hunt”, saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero”.

Netanyahu has thanked Trump for his support in Israel’s brief war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated.

In a first case, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.

During his current term since late 2022, Netanyahu’s government has proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts.

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