Khaberni - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested on Friday to postpone his trial sessions on corruption charges for at least two weeks, citing security and political reasons.
The official Israeli broadcasting authority stated that Netanyahu requested a two-week postponement of his trial session, for confidential security and political reasons.
Netanyahu did not provide further details about these reasons in his request, and it remains unclear if the Israeli Central Court will respond to Netanyahu’s request.
According to Channel 12, the court had decided last Thursday to resume Netanyahu's trial sessions next Sunday.
Netanyahu's trial was halted amid the American-Israeli war on Iran that started on February 28th last year.
The Israeli Home Front Command announced a ban on gatherings with the outbreak of the war on Iran, which stopped court sessions in Israel.
Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three corruption cases known as cases 1000, 2000, and 4000. An indictment related to these was filed against him at the end of November 2019.
The Nature of the Charges
Case 1000 involves Netanyahu and family members receiving valuable gifts from wealthy businessmen, in return for providing favors and assistance to those individuals in various fields.
Case 2000 involves negotiations with the publisher of the private newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" Arnon Mozes to obtain positive media coverage.
The charges in Case 4000 involve offering concessions to the former owner of the Israeli news site "Walla" Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for positive media coverage.
Netanyahu's trial in these cases began in 2020 and is still ongoing. He denies them, claiming they are a political campaign aimed at overthrowing him.
On November 30th last year, Netanyahu asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon him for the corruption charges following him, without pleading guilty, while Israeli law only permits the president to grant a pardon after admission of guilt.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring Herzog to pardon Netanyahu.
In addition to his local trial, the International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants on November 21, 2024, against Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
