Israeli court rejects Netanyahu’s call to postpone graft trial hearings

JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Friday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, after US President Donald Trump said the case should be canceled.

Netanyahu’s lawyer on Thursday asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needed to concentrate on “security issues” after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

The Jerusalem district court said in a judgment published online that “in its current form (his request) does not provide a basis or detailed justification for the cancelation of the hearings.”

Trump on Wednesday described the case against Netanyahu as a “witch hunt,” saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero.”

Netanyahu has thanked Trump for his support in Israel’s brief war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

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Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated.

In a first case, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.

In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.

During his current term since late 2022, Netanyahu’s government has proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts.

Netanyahu has requested multiple postponements in the trial since it began in May 2020, citing the war in Gaza which started in 2023, later fighting in Lebanon and this month the conflict with Iran.