Netanyahu returns to court to testify in criminal trial after weeks away due to prostate surgery

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court to testify in his criminal trial for the first time in almost a month, after he underwent prostate removal surgery in late December.

The court postponed Netanyahu’s testimony for two weeks following the surgery, and then for an additional week after his attorney Amit Hadad cited “postoperative medical developments.”

The court rejected a further request from Hadad to reduce the number of days Netanyahu is required to testify this week from three days to one, as it said it had reviewed the premier’s medical records and found no reason to do so. Instead, it reduced the number of hours that Netanyahu will be required to testify each day, and said longer breaks would be granted as needed.

Taking the stand, Netanyahu says that he regrets the court’s decision not to grant him an additional reprieve from testifying this week, and claims that he has still not fully recovered from the December 29 surgery.

“I had surgery less than a month ago. The normal recovery process is six weeks,” he tells the court. “In my case, the recovery did not go according to my doctors’ expectations and wishes, because I was dragged or swept away against my will… to deal with a flood of needs related to the release of the hostages and the events in Lebanon and elsewhere.”

“I am in the process of recovering, but I am not recovered yet,” he adds. He says he will “see how I feel at the end of the day,” and may ask the court to reconsider its decision.