Corruption: Netanyahu gets away with it (for now)

Mr. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, had justified his request to postpone the hearings with “developments in the region and the world” arising from the war with Iran and the war with Gaza.

The head of state is “obliged to devote all his time and energy to managing national, diplomatic and security issues of the utmost importance”, Hadad wrote in a request sent to the Jerusalem court on Thursday.

“Following the explanations given, […] we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr. Netanyahu’s hearing days set for June 30 and July 2,” the court document reads.

On Friday, the court had initially rejected the Prime Minister’s request to suspend his hearings for two weeks.

In response, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he will not “tolerate” the continuation of this trial.

Donald Trump had already called for a mistrial on Wednesday, calling it a “witch hunt”.

Mr. Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing during the trial, which has been postponed several times since it opened in May 2020.

In the first case, he and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, are accused of accepting over $260,000 worth of luxury goods, such as cigars, jewelry and champagne, from billionaires in trade for political favors.

In two other cases, the Prime Minister is accused of trying to obtain more favorable media coverage in two Israeli media outlets.