Citing need to speed up trial, court says Netanyahu to testify 3 times per week starting in November

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be required to testify three times a week in his corruption trial starting in November, the judges overseeing the case announce, citing the need to speed up the process.

The trial has been going on since 2020, and Netanyahu has been testifying twice a week since December, with countless of these hearings canceled or cut short due to various reasons related to the premier’s responsibilities and to fatigue and illnesses.

The Jerusalem District Court judges say that four hearings per week will be held starting in November, and Netanyahu will testify in three of them until the end of his cross-examination.

The court system is currently on recess, and the next hearings are scheduled for September.

The judges also order an examination of the idea of holding future hearings at a courthouse in Beit Shemesh, rather than at the Tel Aviv District Court, where they have been held until now. The hearings can’t be held at the Jerusalem District Court building during the war since it lacks an adequate bomb shelter.