Jerusalem, MINA – The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to reduce the number of days he must testify in his ongoing corruption trial, according to local media reports cited by Anadolu Agency.
Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, who leads the panel overseeing the trial, denied Netanyahu’s appeal to testify three days a week instead of four, stating, “The hearings will proceed as planned,” as reported by Yedioth Ahronoth.
The decision comes as political debate intensifies in Israel over a draft bill that could indefinitely delay Netanyahu’s trials. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation was set to discuss the proposal on Sunday before forwarding it to the Knesset for deliberation, according to The Times of Israel. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has voiced strong opposition, warning that the bill could inject “political considerations” into the criminal process.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a Knesset speech to grant Netanyahu a pardon from corruption charges. Netanyahu faces allegations in Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000 — all of which he denies.
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The Israeli leader, who began testifying in May 2020, is the first sitting prime minister in Israel’s history to take the stand as a criminal defendant. He also faces war crimes and crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over atrocities committed in Gaza, where more than 68,000 people, mostly women and children have been killed since October 2023.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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