After roughly six weeks of delays in his testimony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to testify on Monday in his criminal trial.
But, about 90 minutes before the hearing was scheduled to begin, it was abruptly canceled, following a request from Netanyahu's attorney, Amit Hadad.
An official notice from the bench, several hours later on Monday, confirmed that the hearing was canceled after a phone call came into the chief secretary from Hadad. The request cited what the defense described as the prime minister’s “security schedule,” saying further details would be provided to the court and the prosecution in a sealed submission.
Netanyahu’s testimony repeatedly disrupted
The trial, which began in 2020, is now in the defense stage, with Netanyahu’s testimony underway but repeatedly disrupted by security and wartime developments.
In Case 1000, he is accused of receiving expensive gifts, including cigars and champagne, from wealthy businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer, while allegedly taking actions to benefit Milchan. He is charged in that case with fraud and breach of trust.
Case 2000 centers on recorded conversations between Netanyahu and Arnon “Noni” Mozes, publisher of Yediot Aharonot, in which prosecutors say the two discussed a possible arrangement for more favorable coverage of Netanyahu in exchange for steps that would weaken the rival newspaper Israel Hayom. Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust in that case, while Mozes is accused of bribery.
In Case 4000, known as the Bezeq-Walla affair, Netanyahu is accused of advancing regulatory decisions that benefited Shaul Elovitch, then the controlling shareholder of Bezeq, in exchange for favorable coverage on the Walla news site, which Elovitch controlled. Netanyahu is charged in that case with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
He denies wrongdoing in all three cases, arguing that the gifts were between friends, that the conversations with Mozes were not a criminal agreement, and that there was no quid pro quo in the Walla case.
The proceedings have continued to shadow Israeli politics, both because Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to testify as a criminal defendant and because the cases remain bound up with broader debates over the justice system, media power, and the limits of political authority.