Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense team asked the Jerusalem District Court to delay the start of his testimony on Wednesday, but the judges rejected the request and ordered the hearing to proceed as planned.
In a filing submitted Tuesday, Netanyahu’s attorney Amit Hadad asked the court to hold Wednesday’s hearing only from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., citing a “security matter” that was detailed separately in a sealed envelope submitted to the court and the prosecution.
The defense said that because of the tight timetable, the request was submitted before the prosecution’s response was received.
Presiding Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, sitting with Judges Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham, declined the request.
“After reviewing the request and the confidential material, I have not found a sufficient basis justifying the requested change in the hearing date,” Friedman-Feldman wrote in the decision. “The hearing will take place as scheduled.”
The decision came a day after Netanyahu returned to the witness stand for the first time since February 24, following a two-month pause caused by the Iran war and security developments in the region.
Tuesday’s hearing was also the first after a last-minute cancellation of Monday’s scheduled testimony, which the defense attributed to Netanyahu’s security schedule.
Tuesday’s hearing was cut short, but cross-examination resumed in Case 4000, the Bezeq-Walla affair, the most serious of the three cases against Netanyahu because it includes a bribery charge.
Prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh questioned Netanyahu about what the prosecution says is supporting evidence for the alleged “guidance meeting” between Netanyahu and former Communications Ministry director-general Shlomo Filber.
Prosecution: Benjamin Netanyahu aided Bezeq owner
According to the prosecution, Netanyahu used that meeting to direct Filber on matters that would later benefit Shaul Elovitch, then the controlling shareholder of Bezeq, while Elovitch’s Walla news site allegedly provided Netanyahu with favorable coverage. Netanyahu denies that such a meeting took place and has denied all wrongdoing.
The renewed testimony also unfolded against a parallel development outside the courtroom: President Isaac Herzog’s legal team invited both the defense and prosecution to begin preliminary talks to reach understandings on a possible plea bargain.
Herzog’s legal adviser, Michal Tsuk-Shafir, wrote to both sides on Tuesday evening, inviting them to meet at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to explore whether discussions could be opened “with an open heart and sincere, good intention.”
Tsuk-Shafir clarified that participation in the process would not constitute agreement to the other side’s legal positions in the trial. The move is only preliminary, meant to determine whether agreements can be reached before Herzog considers Netanyahu’s pending pardon request.
Herzog’s office has repeatedly said that the president believes efforts to reach an agreement between the sides should be exhausted before the pardon request itself is addressed.
Netanyahu’s criminal trial, which began in 2020, is now in the defense stage, with the prime minister testifying as a defendant. He was indicted in 2019 and has pleaded not guilty.
He began testifying in December 2024, becoming the first sitting Israeli prime minister to take the stand as a criminal defendant, and prosecutors began cross-examining him in June 2025 after months of direct examination by the defense.
The indictment includes three cases: Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is accused of receiving expensive gifts, including cigars and champagne, from wealthy businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer, while allegedly taking actions to benefit Milchan; Case 2000, which centers on alleged discussions between Netanyahu and Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon Mozes about favorable coverage in exchange for weakening rival newspaper Israel Hayom; and Case 4000, the Bezeq-Walla affair. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Cases 1000 and 2000, and bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in Case 4000.