Court rejects Netanyahu trial delay, says AG must produce documents on probes

The Jerusalem District Court rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay a hearing in his corruption trial by 30 days.

The hearing next week is set to focus on Netanyahu’s response to the criminal indictment against him.

The prime minister’s defense team asked for more time to respond to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s acknowledgment that he had authorized the criminal probes against the premier verbally, but not in writing.

The Jerusalem court, in its decision, orders Mandelblit to hand over documentation proving he authorized the investigations. The attorney general had referred to internal documentation from meetings that underlines his approval of the investigations, but didn’t attach those documents to his response to the court, the judges note.

The attorney general must hand over that evidence “without delay,” the ruling says, adding that the state can redact confidential information.