Netanyahu asks to testify in criminal trial just once next week instead of 3 times; prosecution opposes request

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked to cut down the number of days of testimony in his criminal trial next week from three to one, citing his recovery from a prostate removal surgery he underwent last month.

The court initially postponed his testimony by two weeks following the surgery, and then by an additional week after his lawyer Amit Hadad requested it be pushed back again due to “post-operative medical developments.”

According to reports, Hadad has now requested that the premier only be required to appear in court one day next week — either on Wednesday or Thursday — due to what he says is an infection that Netanyahu developed in the week following surgery.

Hadad says that Netanyahu’s recovery process requires him to make a “gradual return” to full activity, and asserts that he was advised to “avoid continuous activity for more than three hours without rest over the next week, and to avoid long journeys, and sitting or standing for long periods,” Ynet reports.

He argues, therefore, that testifying three times in Tel Aviv next week would go against medical advice.

The prosecution opposes the request, saying that it reviewed Netanyahu’s medical records and did not see a reason to grant it. Instead, it says it is willing to grant longer breaks during the hearings and will shorten each session by a small amount.