Israeli Central Court Cancels Netanyahu's Trial Session on Monday

A Hebrew newspaper reported on Sunday that the Israeli Central Court decided to cancel the trial session of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for tomorrow Monday, with the trial sessions continuing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The cancellation decision came after postponing the government meeting from Sunday to Monday, due to arrangements for the Hanukkah holiday for state employees, which led to a direct conflict between the government meeting time and the court session.

The newspaper indicated that Netanyahu's lawyers submitted a request to cancel the Monday and Tuesday sessions, but the court judges approved only the cancellation of the Monday session, deciding to keep the Tuesday session, in addition to shortening the Wednesday session.

Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases, which may require imprisonment if convicted, while he refuses to admit any of the charges against him.

Another newspaper stated that the court considered changing the government meeting date a sufficient reason to cancel the Monday session, confirming that the trial sessions will continue in the following days according to the revised schedule.

Accordingly, no trial session for Netanyahu will be held on Monday, with the judicial proceedings continuing during the rest of the week, according to the court's decision.

The newspaper also noted that the prosecution criticized the way the postponement request was submitted, considering that "attaching the justifications for the request in a sealed envelope is unjustified and constitutes an infringement on the principle of publicity of judicial proceedings, especially since some details related to the request were previously published in the media," according to the newspaper.

The holding of trial sessions comes amid the ongoing division within Israel regarding Netanyahu's request for presidential pardon from President Isaac Herzog, between supporters and opponents.

On November 30 last year, Netanyahu requested Herzog to grant him a pardon for the corruption charges he faces, without admitting guilt or retiring from political work.

Since the start of his trial, Netanyahu refuses to admit guilt, while Israeli law does not allow the president to grant pardon except after admission.

Netanyahu's trial in these cases began in 2020 and continues, while he continues to deny the charges, considering them "a political campaign aimed at ousting him."