Israeli court cancels Netanyahu’s Wednesday corruption hearing over ‘security reasons’

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

An Israeli court has cancelled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled hearing session on Wednesday in his corruption trial due to “security reasons.”

According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Monday, judges approved Netanyahu’s request to cancel the session as the premier claimed that “there is a security issue on Wednesday."

The decision was taken after Netanyahu passed an envelope containing "confidential information" to the public prosecution, the daily added.

Netanyahu appeared in court on Monday to answer to charges in Case 1000, in which he and his family are accused of receiving expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for political favors.

The premier is also accused in Case 2000 of negotiating with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes for favorable media coverage and in Case 4000 of giving regulatory benefits to telecom executive and Walla news owner Shaul Elovitch in exchange for positive reporting.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, to grant a pardon for the prime minister.

Netanyahu, whose trial began on May 24, 2020, is the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant in the country’s history.

Separately, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on Nov. 21, 2024, over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 69,000 people have been killed and over 170,000 others injured in a brutal assault since October 2023.