The trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been ongoing for nearly seven years, resumes Sunday. Around 20 hearings are expected to be held through the general election scheduled for late October, amid what has been described as efforts by both the prosecution and Netanyahu’s lawyers to delay proceedings and buy time.
اضافة اعلان
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. His trial began in 2020, and he completed his testimony phase in June 2026 after 98 hearings.
According to Haaretz, if Netanyahu wins the election and remains in office, he is expected to seek the replacement of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in an effort to have the indictment against him dropped. If he loses the election, he may seek a deal with the prosecution under which he would withdraw from political life in exchange for a reduced sentence, the newspaper reported Sunday.
In July 2023, judges advised the prosecution to drop the bribery charge, the most serious count in the indictment against Netanyahu. The judges did not explain the basis for their recommendation, which was formally rejected by the attorney general, who maintained that the evidence supporting the charge was strong, despite the fact that not all of the evidence had been presented before Netanyahu began testifying.
Netanyahu has so far called 25 witnesses, including low-ranking police investigators. His supporters have repeatedly spoken of a conspiracy and fabricated cases against him. His lawyers are now seeking to summon prominent witnesses, including former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who filed the indictment against Netanyahu, former Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and former State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan.
Netanyahu is also expected to use his court hearings over the next two months to turn the witness stand—where ministers and close associates are expected to testify—into a platform for election campaigning.
Source: Al-Qahera News / Haaretz
