State prosecution opposes Netanyahu request to delay testimony in trial to next year
PM’s attorney said Gaza war meant more time was needed to prep Netanyahu for testimony, but state attorney notes PM has previously insisted he can run country while on trial
The State Attorney’s Office has expressed opposition to a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a delay in giving testimony in his corruption charge until March 2025, saying to do so would mean a de facto freeze of the criminal case against the premier for eight months.
In a filing to the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday, the State Attorney’s Office insisted that Netanyahu’s testimony start no later than November 1, saying this would give him enough time to prepare.
Two weeks ago, Netanyahu’s criminal defense attorney told the court 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.
“In the current reality, in which the defense needs to prepare the prime minister for testimony in the midst of a war, the time needed to prepare the prime minister for testimony in a manner which does not harm his rights and his defense is significantly greater,” Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad argued to the court.
The State Attorney’s Office strongly rejected this request, noting both that the case has dragged on for years already and that Netanyahu has frequently argued that he is able to run the country even while on trial.
“The overriding public interest in this [legal] process is the completion of the criminal proceedings and a ruling, alongside the protection of the rights of the defendants and the rules of criminal procedure. Delay to the completion of the process causes substantial damage to the public,” the State Attorney’s Office said in its filing to the court on Sunday.
“There is for sure… no place for a de facto halt to the trial or for its suspension,” said the State Attorney’s Office.
The Jerusalem District Court will hold a hearing on Netanyahu’s request on Tuesday and then decide whether to accept it. On July 21, the court begins its summer recess, which will end at the beginning of September.
The prime minister faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000. He was indicted four and half years ago in January 2020 and the trial began in May of that year.
Netanyahu has so far not taken the stand, though he has appeared in court on a handful of occasions. Proceedings have involved cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, but that phase is expected to end in the coming weeks. As the main defendant, Netanyahu should be the first to face cross-examination as the defense presents its witnesses in the three cases.
Case 4000, also known as the Bezeq-Walla case and the most serious the prime minister faces, focuses on allegations that Netanyahu authorized regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Shaul Elovitch by hundreds of millions of shekels. In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Walla news site, also owned by Elovitch.
Case 2000 concerns allegations Netanyahu tried to obtain positive media coverage in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in exchange for curtailing its competitor. In Case 1000, prosecutors say Netanyahu inappropriately received expensive gifts from billionaire benefactors.
