Israeli prime minister repeats request to postpone testimony in corruption trial

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again requested to postpone his testimony in his corruption trial, citing the arrest warrants recently issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The Israeli premier is originally scheduled to testify before the court on Dec. 2 in his trial on charges of bribery, breach of trust, and fraud.

Netanyahu "submitted another request to the Jerusalem District Court to delay his testimony for 15 days,” the Israeli Channel 12 reported.

He claimed that "the defense team is not yet ready for the testimony for next week’s session.”

"This is a short and final request for delay, limited and aligned with a set of necessary considerations for the matter,” the request says.

Netanyahu and his defense team linked their request to the ICC warrants to delay the testimony.

On Monday, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Netanyahu's office had asked the Shin Bet security service to issue an opinion allowing Netanyahu to avoid attending his trial.

His office argues that the premier “can’t stay for long in fixed locations where his arrival is known in advance to the public," according to Haaretz.

Shin Bet, however, refused to provide such an opinion and launched a broad investigation into whether the testimony could proceed as planned while maintaining the security requirements for the prime minister, the same source said.

According to the daily, Netanyahu has recently faced pressure from family members and close associates to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

This is not the first time for Netanyahu to attempt to avoid appearing in court.

Two weeks ago, the court rejected Netanyahu’s request to delay his testimony citing his preoccupation of the current wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,200 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,500.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala