Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will start testifying in his public corruption trial on December 2, the Jerusalem District Court ordered on Tuesday.
He is expected to testify and to be cross-examined for up to two months.
Netanyahu says too busy with war to follow case
Netanyahu had asked to push off his testimony until mid-spring 2025, while the prosecution had wanted his testimony to start soon after the summer court recess.
He had said he was too busy to follow the case due to the war, but the prosecution, and the court said that a premise of him remaining prime minister during the trial versus resigning as recommended by most legal officials had been that he said he could handle both.
The case started in 2020 and the trial opened in spring 2021, but the prosecution is only finishing presenting its case in the near future.
One of its last witnesses, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, testifies next week.
Netanyahu faces three cases: Case 1000 - the Illegal Gifts Affairs, Case 2000 - the attempted media bribery Yediot Aharonot -Israel Hayom Affair, and Case 4000 - the media bribery Bezeq-Walla Affair.
To date, predictions have been that Netanyahu can beat the most severe bribery charge in Case 4000 and the charges in Case 2000, but that he may face conviction for the more minor counts of breach of public trust in cases 1000 and 4000.
His testimony will be critical for both sides: for the prosecution to try to achieve the bribery charge conviction and solidify the minor charges, and for the prime minister to erase the minor charges.