Court holds secret hearing on Netanyahu trial delay amid diplomatic, security efforts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attending an unscheduled, closed-door hearing in the Jerusalem District Court to discuss his recent request to delay his testimony in his criminal trial by two weeks, according to Hebrew media reports.

Netanyahu had two requests to delay his testimony rejected by the court on Friday, which said that the reasons he gave for the request were not substantive enough.

The prime minister’s defense attorney Amit Hadad told the court that in the wake of the war with Iran, Netanyahu needed the postponement to attend to “diplomatic, national and security issues of the first order.”

According to reports, Military Intelligence head Shlomi Binder is summoned to the hearing at Netanyahu’s request. According to Channel 12 news, two senior officials from the National Security Council and the Mossad spy agency also testify.

Netanyahu’s first request was rejected due to a lack of details, and even when Hadad submitted Netanyahu’s schedule to the court for the coming two weeks as proof, the judges said the information and details provided were not sufficient to justify postponing the premier’s testimony.

The judges will need to make a final decision today, as Netanyahu is scheduled to testify in court tomorrow.

The hearing comes after US President Donald Trump claimed that Netanyahu’s trial needed to be called off because it was interfering with efforts to clinch a deal ending the war in Gaza and freeing hostages, as well as diplomacy with Iran.