The Jerusalem Regional Court bench agreed on Tuesday to an eight-day delay of the beginning of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trials. The testimony is now set to begin on December 10.
The ruling came in response to a request by the prime minister’s attorneys to delay the testimony by 15 days, citing unpreparedness. The request was the fourth of its kind, and came after a previous request a number of weeks ago to delay the testimony by ten weeks was rejected.
The state prosecutors in the case opposed the request, given the “clear public interest in completing the trial as quickly as possible and preventing delays, the long preparation time provided, and lack of substantial reasons for changed circumstances since this decision.”
The bench, comprised of judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham, wrote that while there “did not arise a change of circumstances that justifies a change in the date that was set,” it agreed, “not without deliberation,” to partially accept the request due to the defense’s claim that it was not prepared, while taking into account the defense’s statement that it would not request another delay.
The prosecution on Monday also addressed the manner of the prime minister’s testimony regarding security arrangements.
“After the attorney-general’s consultation with the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency], who had initial contact with the courts administration, several possible frameworks could be proposed to ensure proper and continuous trial proceedings, considering the PM’s security needs,” the prosecution wrote.
According to an investigation conducted by Walla, this refers to secure courtrooms where the prime minister can testify, specifically at the Tel Aviv District Court and Supreme Court, not the Jerusalem District Court.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge Ruth Ronen ruled on Monday that Netanyahu and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara must submit their positions by next Sunday regarding petitions requesting Netanyahu be declared incapacitated during his testimony.
The petition argues that the prime minister should be declared incapacitated because he is expected to testify three days per week in his cases. The petitioners further argued that if full incapacitation isn’t decided, he should at least be declared partially incapacitated – during the times he testifies in court.
The three cases
The prime minister is standing trial for three cases of fraud and breach of trust, and one case of bribery. In the first case, known as Case 1000, he is suspected of providing regulatory and other benefits to billionaire Arnon Milchan, after receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels worth of expensive cigars and champagne, alongside other gifts.
In the second case, known as Case 2000, Netanyahu is suspected of proposing a deal to Yediot Aharonot owner Arnon (Noni) Mozes, whereby he would target Yediot’s main competitor, Israel Hayom, in exchange for positive coverage.
In the third case, known as Case 4000, Netanyahu is suspected of providing Shaul Elovitch, major shareholder of a number of communications and media companies including Bezek, with regulatory benefits in exchange for positive coverage from Walla, which Elovitch also owned. In this case, Netanyahu was indicted for bribery on top of fraud and breach of trust.