Corruption Trial – Israeli Court Rejects Netanyahu’s Request for Delay in Case

November 13, 2024 News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The Israeli prime minister will be expected to take the stand in just under three weeks.

An Israeli court has rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a 10-week delay to the start of his testimony in his corruption trial.

Netanayhu’s legal team said the prime minister was unable to prepare due to the time constraints of managing the war in Gaza and Lebanon, according to the Times of Israel.

However, the report stated that the Jerusalem District Court reportedly said it gave Netanyahu a long period for testimony preparation when it set the date of December 2 back in July.

“We were not convinced that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred which would justify a change to the date we set in our (original) decision,” the court said.

Netanyahu will therefore be expected to appear in just under three weeks, the paper said.

Failed Argument

Israel National News reported that Netanyahu’s attorney, Amit Hadad, said: “We have put in ultimate efforts, day and night, to try and reach the set deadline. Since then there have been endless developments. As far as we are concerned, we asked for the bare minimum.”

Yehudit Tirosh, the lawyer for Attorney General’s office reportedly said: “I cannot imagine that the Prime Minister is not ready to give his testimony. Otherwise, his defense attorney would not have submitted the request only two weeks before the date for the testimony.”

The first court session of Netanyahu’s corruption trial was held on May 24, 2020.

According to Israeli law, the trial does not require Netanyahu to resign from his position unless the Supreme Court convicts him, a decision that could take several months to be reached.

Intelligence Leak Scandal

The looming corruption trial comes amid an investigation into the leak of intelligence documents from Netanyahu’s office.

Five suspects have been detained as part of the investigation, and Netanyahu himself will be investigated following the go-ahead from Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara last week.

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In addition, Netanyahu’s government faces a series of political and security crises, including the dismissal of defense chief Yoav Gallant, which has sparked significant opposition and widespread protests in Israel.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,712 Palestinians have been killed, and 103,258 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Millions Displaced

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu)

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