From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 6, 2024
Knesset speaker tells court Netanyahu’s graft trial testimony must be coordinated with him
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana complains to the Jerusalem District Court that the schedule for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal defense trial was not coordinated with him.
Citing the Knesset Members (Immunity, Rights and Duties) Law that says the speaker must consent to timing for MKs to give testimony, Ohana writes that the legislation intends to ensure that “one authority (the judiciary) does not interfere with the work of another authority (the legislature).”
His letter comes after the court yesterday rejected Netanyahu’s request to testify in his criminal defense trial two days a week instead of three, a request he made due to his busy schedule, security meetings, and the need for communication with officials abroad amid the ongoing multifront war.
Ohana says that Knesset plenum sessions are scheduled for Mondays at 4 p.m. and Wednesdays at 11 a.m.
“True, the presence of all 120 MKs is not always required, but that is what the coordination and agreement mechanism is intended for,” he writes.
Specifically, he notes that Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña is set to address the Knesset this Wednesday, followed by a special Knesset ceremony with Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Ohana and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
“The prime minister’s summons to testify at this particular time harms the status of the event and diminishes the historic debate,” he says, asking that the court coordinate with him so that Netanyahu can attend the event.
Peña will be in Israel to fulfill a campaign promise and reopen the country’s embassy in Jerusalem.
The court asks for the State Attorney’s Office and the Knesset legal adviser for their responses to Ohana’s petition by Sunday.
The premier is set to begin giving testimony in an underground hall in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
