An Israeli court has 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.
Mr Netanyahu’s lawyer asked the court yesterday 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.
The Jerusalem district court said in a judgement published online that “in its current form (his request) does not provide a basis or detailed justification for the cancellation of the hearings”.
Mr Netanyahu’s lawyer Amit Hadad promptly submitted a fresh request for the next two weeks’ hearings to be scrapped.
He said he had submitted Mr Netanyahu’s schedule to the court to demonstrate “the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand”.
Mr Trump described the case against Mr Netanyahu as a “witch hunt”, saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero”.
Mr Netanyahu has thanked Mr Trump for his support in Israel’s brief war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on 24 June.
Mr 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 €221,910 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.
In two other cases, Mr Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.
During his current term, which started in late 2022, Mr Netanyahu’s government proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts.
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