Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trial, which was set to resume on Monday morning after a two-month break due to the war with Iran, was canceled at the last minute due to security developments, Hebrew media reported.
Proceedings at the Tel Aviv District Court had been scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., but were called off following a request by the premier’s defense team, according to Channel 12 News.
Because the request to postpone the hearing was not filed in advance, prosecutors were reportedly not given the opportunity to respond. Israel’s court administration said a formal motion would be submitted later in the day, after which a decision regarding the hearings would be issued.
The trial, which was halted amid the war with the Islamic Republic that started on Feb. 28, was initially expected to resume two weeks ago. However, Netanyahu’s testimony has been postponed twice since then, each time citing security developments.
Netanyahu on Sunday convened coalition leaders and top ministers to prepare for a possible collapse of the U.S.-Iran talks, according to Israeli media reports.
The premier called the two meetings “to examine a series of scenarios in the event that the negotiations collapse,” according to Channel 12 News.
The New York Times earlier on Sunday cited two Israeli officials as saying that Israeli President Isaac Herzog would seek to advance a plea deal for Netanyahu and does not plan to grant a pardon at this stage.
Herzog was said to favor informal talks under presidential auspices, with state prosecutors and the attorney general on one side and Netanyahu’s lawyer on the other.
Israel’s head of state has faced pressure to grant a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump.
On March 5, Trump said of Herzog, “I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He’s disgraceful for not giving it,” referring to a pardon. Herzog “promised me five times that he would give Bibi a pardon,” Trump claimed, adding that he would refuse to meet with the Israeli president until the pardon was granted.
On Feb. 12, Trump said that the Israeli president “should be ashamed of himself,” adding that Herzog had been holding the issue over Netanyahu “for a year” and should stop using it as leverage. Before that, on Oct. 13 of last year, while addressing the Knesset, Trump called on Herzog to grant a pardon. Trump followed that up with a letter to the Israeli president on Nov. 12.
