Netanyahu testimony in corruption trial on Wednesday canceled for ‘security reason’

A hearing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trial scheduled for Wednesday was canceled by the court Monday due to a “security reason.”

Netanyahu’s lawyers requested the cancellation of the hearing and handed an envelope regarding the matter to the Jerusalem District Court, where Netanyahu has been on the stand since late last year, Channel 12 reported.

After examining the contents of the envelope, Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman agreed to cancel the session.

According to Channel 12, the document was also shown to the prosecution, who did not object to the judge’s decision to cancel Wednesday’s hearing.

The specific reason for the requested cancellation was not made public.

The request was the latest in a series of changes Netanyahu’s defense team has put before the court in recent weeks and months. He has repeatedly asked to end hearings early due to affairs of state or his health.

Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases, the first sitting prime minister in Israeli history to face criminal charges. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust, in Case 4000.

The premier has denied any wrongdoing and said all the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.

Over the past month, Netanyahu’s team again requested that the number of hearings per week be reduced from four to three, citing his work as well as that of his attorneys. That request was denied.

Judges increased the number of hearings in order to accelerate the trial, where cross-examination of Netanyahu began in June and his testimony alone is due to stretch into next April. The trial may last into 2027.

Despite the denial to reduce the number of hearings, Channel 12 noted that since the decision, there has not been a single week in which Netanyahu testified even three times due to various constraints and postponements.

US President Donald Trump has criticized the prosecution of Netanyahu several times, most recently writing a letter to President Isaac Herzog, requesting that he grant the premier a pardon.

In an interview last week, Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to Trump for being “so forthright” in his request, but insisted he will not request a pardon for his corruption trial if it means admitting guilt in the case.

“It hurts both American and Israeli interests, which is also what [Trump] said,” Netanyahu said of his corruption trial. “My time has to be free to pursue the things that will determine Israel’s future and the future of peace in the Middle East.”