A Court of Israel canceled this week’s hearings in the prolonged trial for corruption of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accepting a request made by Premier himself based on “diplomatic motifs” and confidential security.
The decision was announced after US President Donald Trump last week that the case was filed, suggesting that the process could interfere with Netanyahu’s ability to participate in the negotiations with the terrorist group Hamas and Iran.
The prime minister’s lawyer requested on Thursday the postponement of the Israeli leader’s hearings due to “events in the region and the world” after the conflict with the Islamic Republic and the ongoing war in Gaza. To the court, Amit Hadad maintained that Netanyahu is “forced to devote all his time and energy to the management of national, diplomatic and security matters.”
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“In the light of the explanations presented (…) we partially accepted the request and at this time we canceled the hearings of Mr. Netanyahu scheduled” for this week, the Jerusalem District Court said in his decision, published online by the Likud party of Netanyahu. The deliberation says that new arguments presented by the prime minister, the head of the Israeli espionage agency Mossad and the head of military intelligence justified the cancellation of the hearings.
On social networks, Trump had stated on Saturday that the United States “will not tolerate” the continuation of the process, which led Netanyahu to thank him in an X publication. The president described the case against Premier as a “witch hunt”, stating that the trial “should be canceled immediately, or should be granted forgiveness to this great hero.”
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and abuse of trust – all denied by him. Except for a brief appearance to declare himself innocent in 2021, Netanyahu was rarely affected by the progress of the trial to this day. Like Trump, Israeli Prime Minister portrays the process filed against him as a witch hunt orchestrated on the left, with the aim of overthrowing a democratically elected right-wing right leader.
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Bribery, fraud and abuse of confidence
The investigation against Netanyahu began in 2016. He was indicted five years ago in three cases involving owners of large media. In the first of these, case 4000, the prime minister is accused of adjusting regulations to benefit a company. The prosecution states that the benefits reached 1.8 billion Shekels (R $ 3 billion). In return, he would have sought a favorable media coverage for himself and his family on the Walla news site.
In the case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of offering a newspaper editor his support to a law that would limit the circulation of a competitor in exchange for a favorable coverage. The law was never passed in Parliament, and Netanyahu denied the accusations.
In case 1000, Netanyahu is accused of receiving luxury gifts, including cigars and rose champagne, film producer Arnon Milchan and businessman James Packer. In return, the accusation states that Milchan sought help to renew his American visa and obtain tax benefits, which he denies. The gifts were valued at about 700 thousand Shekels (R $ 1.2 million). Netanyahu also rejected the accusations, stating that the gifts were gestures of friendship.
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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said last week that Trump “should not interfere with a judicial trial of an independent country.” The US president said Netanyahu is “right now” negotiating an agreement with Hamas, although neither leaders have provided details, and authorities on both sides have shown skepticism as to the possibility of a ceasefire soon.
