Security cabinet ministers urge AG, court to delay Netanyahu’s graft testimony
Almost every minister signs letter appealing to Baharav-Miara and district court judge, claiming diverting PM’s attention from regional affairs now would harm national security
Senior government ministers have pushed for Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to delay the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his graft trial following the fall of the regime in neighboring Syria, saying he needed to be able to focus on his duties.
Nearly every member of the 11-person security cabinet signed a letter Sunday to Baharav-Miara and Jerusalem District Court Judge Tzachi Uziel petitioning for the delay.
A television report detailed a bruising verbal altercation as ministers harangued the attorney general to grant the delay during a meeting of the high-level forum Sunday night.
Netanyahu is scheduled to begin his testimony in an underground room in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday at 10 a.m. The testimony has been pushed off several times by the ongoing war in Gaza, fighting in Lebanon and security concerns regarding shelter space in the Jerusalem District Court building where the trial has been held until now. Netanyahu’s defense team recently agreed to stop requesting delays.
On Sunday, Syrian rebels captured the capital Damascus, and ousted President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow. Israel sent troops into a buffer zone with Syria and overnight carried out a series of strikes on military targets in Syria to prevent advanced weapons from falling into the hands of the Islamist rebels. The developments came as Israel continues to battle against Hamas in a war that began with the Palestinian terror group’s devastating October 7, 2023, attack on the country, which also spawned a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon that came to a halt with a ceasefire last week.
All ministers in the security cabinet apart from Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his fellow New Hope member Minister Ze’ev Elkin signed the letter seeking the delay. However, Sa’ar sent his own request in a similar vein to Baharav-Miara on Sunday.
That the prime minister will be required to present himself in court three times a week “at this crucial hour” is, the ministers wrote, “nothing short of delusional and completely reckless, and a serious harm to national interests” as well as “a loss of basic values.”
Netanyahu, they asserted, should be focused entirely on his job, and giving testimony will block him from fulfilling that duty.
Ministers demanded that the attorney general and the court “find a solution that will enable [Netanyahu] to fulfill his central role in leading the country at this fateful time.”
Any decision on delaying Netanyahu’s testimony lies with the court.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said in response that instead of sending another “unrealistic letter” to the attorney general, ministers should tell Netanyahu that since the Gaza war started last October, “it is clear to us that you are not capable or fit to lead the country in this unusual national security situation and we demand that you resign your position.”
The ministers’ letter noted that at a security cabinet meeting the night before, all members of the panel “expressed strong criticism” of Netanyahu’s testimony schedule.
At the meeting, ministers hassled Baharav-Miara, demanding that she grant Netanyahu a delay, Channel 12 reported.
The attack was opened by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has his own gripes about the attorney general, whom he accuses of trying to push him out of office.
Ben Gvir said that by not agreeing to delay his testimony, Baharav-Miara was “abandoning Israel’s security.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin declared his support for Ben Gvir’s stance, adding that the trial is expected to continue for years anyway.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev said she was appealing to the attorney general’s “heart,” while Science Minister Gila Gamliel said it was a matter of “public trust in the system.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smortich, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Settlements Minister Orit Strock were all also quoted as urging Baharav-Miara to postpone the testimony.
In response, Baharav-Miara reportedly stressed that Netanyahu’s trial was not a matter for discussion at a security cabinet meeting.
“This is political interference,” she said. “The cabinet must not deliberate this.”
“You are now telling the cabinet what to do?” Ben Gvir retorted and asserted that the cabinet would discuss the matter and approach the court about it.
Aryeh Deri, a Netanyahu confidant who leads the coalition Shas party, also sent a letter to Baharav-Miara appealing that the prime minister’s testimony be delayed and claiming it was a matter of mortal danger for him to be distracted at this time, the Ynet news site reported.
The new drive to postpone Netanyahu’s testimony came after on Sunday the court rejected Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s claim that the court must coordinate with him on a schedule for the prime minister’s court appearances.
The court has previously rejected Netanyahu’s request, due to the ongoing wars, to testify two days a week instead of three.
The premier is on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in Case 4000, on allegations that he authorized regulatory decisions to benefit a telecommunications tycoon in exchange for more favorable media coverage on a news outlet owned by the businessman.
Netanyahu also faces fraud and breach of trust charges in two other cases. One, Case 2000, concerns allegations Netanyahu tried to obtain positive media coverage in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in exchange for legislation curtailing its competitor, Israel Hayom. In the other, Case 1000, prosecutors say Netanyahu inappropriately received expensive gifts from billionaire benefactors.
The premier has consistently denied any wrongdoing in all three cases. He has claimed, without evidence, that the charges were fabricated in a witch hunt led by the police and state prosecution.
Netanyahu’s opponents have accused him of trying to indefinitely push off his potentially damaging testimony. The testimony comes after a series of delays stemming from the war against Hamas in Gaza and, until last week, against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
