State Attorney’s Office rejects PM’s request to delay corruption trial testimony until March 2025, gives him until Nov. 1

The State Attorney’s Office rejects a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay his testimony in his corruption charge until March 2025, saying to do so would mean to freeze the criminal case for eight months.

The State Attorney’s Office says therefore that Netanyahu’s testimony should start no later than November 1, saying this would give him enough time to prepare.

Netanyahu’s attorney requested two weeks ago that the prime minister needed more time than was previously expected to prepare him for his testimony in court because of his management of the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, among other reasons.

“The overriding public interest in this [legal] process is the completion of the criminal proceedings and a ruling… Delay in the completion of the process causes substantial damage to the public,” the State Attorney’s Office says in response, noting that the indictment against Netanyahu was filed four and a half years ago.

“The prime minister made clear that his service as prime minister would not influence the management of the legal process,” the State Attorney’s Office says. “There is for sure no place for such influence on the prime minister’s testimony and the beginning of the defense’s case, and there is for sure no place for a de facto halt to the trial or for its suspension.”

The Jerusalem District Court is to hold a hearing on Netanyahu’s request on Tuesday and then decide whether to accept it.