Heading to the White House, Netanyahu seeks cancellation of next week’s trial hearings

In his latest request to delay testimony in his criminal trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks that next week’s hearings be canceled owing to his invitation to the White House to meet with US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad says in a letter to the Jerusalem District Court that the two leaders will discuss “issues of decisive importance to Israel’s foreign relations and security,” and notes that Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump since he took office.

“Given the importance of the visit,” which will last most of the week, Hadad asks the court to cancel all of next week’s court hearings.

The State Attorney’s Office says it agrees to the cancelation, but asks the court to either extend the length of Netanyahu’s days of testimony upon his return, or increase the number of days per week.

Hadad says the defense opposes that request, and asks the court to hold a hearing before making a decision, adding that he is “saddened” that the prosecution is conditioning its agreement to cancel next week’s hearings, “instead of praising the important visit.”

Last week, Hadad asked the court to allow Netanyahu to testify just once a week, citing Netanyahu’s recovery from his recent surgery and due to the demands of his position as prime minister, managing the ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah. The court refused the request, although it did shorten by two hours the duration of each day of testimony.

Netanyahu began his testimony on December 10, and although he was supposed to testify three days a week, has only testified a total of seven days so far due to his surgery and other matters.