The Tel Aviv Court once again canceled the judicial hearing scheduled for this Monday of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “for security and political reasons that prevent his appearance,” according to the judicial decision, to which EFE had access.
“In accordance with the position of the State and the lawyer of accused 4, the hearing scheduled for today is canceled. The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, May 19, 2026, at 9:30 in the morning,” the document confirms.
Netanyahu’s lawyers delivered a sealed envelope to the court and the Prosecutor’s Office explaining the alleged security reasons for this new cancellation.
Since the courts resumed their activities after a two-month break due to the war between Israel and Iran, which ended on April 8, all of Netanyahu’s appearances have been shortened or cancelled, the newspaper detailed this Monday. Haaretz.
According to the request filed by lawyer Noa Milstein on behalf of Netanyahu’s legal team, the prime minister could not attend the hearing for “security and diplomatic reasons” that were detailed in a sealed envelope. The document indicated that the schedule presented to the judges showed that Netanyahu would not be able to testify throughout the day, until late into the night, it indicates. The Jerusalem Post.
The prosecution opposed, however, the total cancellation. In his response, he stated that while he understood that the court had already ruled that the hearing could not begin before noon, the trial had to resume after the facts detailed in Netanyahu’s request were concluded and continue into the night. In the end, it was agreed to leave everything for a later day. Presumably for compelling reasons.
This cancellation may have a double meaning: it is another attempt by the Likud leader to buy time, to delay the process, or it may be related to the uncertainty about a possible new attack against Iran, a necessary pause as a prelude to what is to come. Fears of a new barrage, despite the ceasefire in force agreed between the United States and Iran, increase after the Israeli president held a meeting of his cabinet on Sunday, according to local media, and warned that the country is prepared “for any scenario.”
For his part, US President Donald Trump, who also had a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday, assured shortly afterwards that Iran was running out of time. “For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get going – quickly! -, or there will be nothing left of them. Time is of the essence!” the president wrote on his social network, Truth Social.
“For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get going – quickly! – or there will be nothing left of them. Time is of the essence!”
Donald Trump
The context
Today’s cancellation came at a time when Netanyahu is grappling with a wide range of simultaneous pressures: the volatility of regional security in the wake of the Iran war, renewed concern about an escalation involving Iran and its allies, and an internal coalition crisis centered on the bill on the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
With regard expressly to the trial, the premier He is in the final stretch of his testimony, after dozens of court appearances. He has testified in 87 hearings, and prosecutors estimate there are approximately seven full days of testimony remaining, followed by shorter questioning by his defense attorney.
Netanyahu has three open court cases: cases ‘1,000’ and ‘2,000’, for fraud and breach of trust, and ‘4,000’, considered the most serious, for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
The 2000 case was the one that was going to focus today, which focuses on the alleged bribery of the media involving the editor of Yediot AharonotOn Noni Mozes. According to the indictment, the two discussed a possible agreement in which Mozes would improve coverage of the politician in his newspaper, in exchange for measures that would limit Israel Hayoma rival newspaper whose free distribution posed a serious economic threat to the Yediot. Netanyahu is accused of fraud and breach of trust, while Mozes is accused of offering and promising a bribe. Both deny the allegations, however.
The repeated delays have occurred in parallel with the efforts of the president, former Labor member Isaac Herzog, to explore the possibility of the parties entering into talks to reach a possible agreement and not be bogged down by the possibility of studying a pardon, which is what the president wants. Herzog has urged dialogue between Netanyahu’s defense team and the prosecution before considering Netanyahu’s clemency request, while Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has stated that her office is willing to maintain contacts without preconditions and without disrupting the trial.
For now, however, the criminal proceedings remain formally underway, although the practical pace of Netanyahu’s testimony remains dependent on a shifting calendar in security, diplomacy and politics.
In recent weeks it has also become known that the Israeli prime minister has been treated for prostate cancer, which precisely came to light due to the request for a delay in one of his court appearances.
