Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Sunday before the panel of judges in his corruption trial to convince them to postpone his testimony for the next two weeks, citing regional developments.
After the prime minister arrived to the closed-door session, the judges agreed on a one week postponement after earlier turning down earlier requests. They said they partially agreed to the request since it was unclear how the events Netanyahu was referring to would unfold and added that they would review any further requests to delay testimony further.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in court during his criminal trial for corruption
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
Two earlier requests by Netanyahu's legal team were rejected by the Jerusalem District Court. Netanyahu is currently being cross-examined by the prosecution.
The prime minister enlisted Shlomi Binder, chief of military intelligence and David Barnea, head of the Mossad, to convince the judges of the importance of relieving him from the need to appear in court and also brought along a senior member of the National Security Council.
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Netanyahu was publicly supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Sunday for the second time in days, said the criminal proceedings against the prime minister must be stopped and were a political witch hunt, a claim the prime minister has made since he was indicted.
The courts are scheduled to break for a summer recess on July 21 and return only on September 5 and unless the judges' panel decides to hold special hearings in Netanyahu's criminal trial, the prime minister will not have to stand for his cross-examination before the courts resume their regular schedule.