Israeli court rejects request to postpone Netanyahu's corruption testimony

An Israeli court has rejected a last-ditch request by 12 Cabinet ministers to postpone Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in his corruption trial, according to Israeli media.

Netanyahu is set to testify before the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday to defend himself against charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

On the eve of his trial, the Cabinet ministers, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, sent a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara requesting the delay.

They cited the current "exceptional security situation" to have his trial postponed in reference to Sunday's fall of Bashar al Assad after anti-regime groups captured the capital, Damascus, on Sunday.

The letter claimed that Netanyahu's court appearance would harm Israel's national interests.

Israel's Channel 14 reported on Monday evening that the court rejected their request.

Last month, the court rejected an earlier request to delay Netanyahu's testimony for 10 weeks due to his preoccupation with the brutal war on besieged Gaza and Lebanon.

Corruption trial

Netanyahu's trial began in May 2020. Months before the start of the Israeli carnage in Palestine's Gaza, Netanyahu was caught in hot water after he planned to move ahead with a controversial judicial overhaul.

The overhaul included weakening the Supreme Court's power to review or throw out laws, letting the government have a decisive say on who becomes a judge and scrapping the requirement for ministers to obey legal advisers' advice.

Critics of it said this plan undermines the check and balances system, and thousands of Israelis protested every week against it.

In Gaza, Netanyahu is accused of committing war crimes, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him.

Opposition leaders accuse Netanyahu of escalating Israel's war on Gaza to evade his trial and to achieve a victory that could protect him from conviction and keep him in power.

Under Israeli law, Netanyahu is not required to resign unless convicted by the Supreme Court, a process that could take several months.