Jerusalem court rejects Knesset speaker’s claim that it must coordinate PM’s testimony with him

The Jerusalem District Court rejects the claims of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana that it must coordinate with him when setting the dates for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in court for his criminal trial.

In its ruling, the court says that the law Ohana referred to in his filing related to an MK giving testimony as a witness, not a defendant.

Since Netanyahu is the defendant in the trial in question the court was not required to consult with the Knesset speaker, the judges rule.

They also point out that after an MK’s immunity from prosecution has been removed, or in Netanyahu’s case since it was never granted by the Knesset in the first place, the prime minister’s standing before the court is like any other person under indictment, meaning Ohana’s claims were not relevant.

The Knesset legal adviser had made similar arguments in her submission to the court earlier in the day.

Netanyahu is now scheduled to begin his testimony in an underground room in the Tel Aviv District Court this Tuesday at 10 a.m.

In a separate decision, the court agrees to push back Netanyahu’s testimony on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 14:30 as the prime minister had requested.

Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña is set to attend a ceremony at the Knesset on Wednesday which Netanyahu would have missed if he had needed to start his testimony at 10 a.m. as scheduled, something Ohana mentioned in his filing to the court.