Netanyahu seeks to delay testifying at his corruption trial

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has requested to delay testifying at his ongoing corruption trial, fueling criticism that he is seeking to drag out the case in order to delay a verdict and, if convicted, a jail term.

A court in Jerusalem has been examining charges of bribery and fraud against Netanyahu, in a trial that began in 2020 and has been set to reach a crescendo this December with several sessions of testimony from the prime minister. He denies the accusations, which center on claims that he used his influence to help leading businesspeople in exchange for gifts and favorable media coverage.

Sunday night, Netanyahu's legal team filed a request with the court to delay his appearance by 2 1/2 months, according to Amit Hadad, one of the prime minister's lawyers. The prime minister has been too consumed by running the country during wartime and needs more time to prepare his defense, Hadad said in a brief phone interview.

Critics countered that Netanyahu had an ulterior motive. The prime minister's "only interest" is to "not to go to jail," Yair Golan, an opposition leader, said in a radio interview. "Besides that, there is no other real consideration."

The request came as Netanyahu battled to rebut separate allegations involving officials in his office.

Investigators are examining whether Netanyahu's aides leaked sensitive intelligence materials to the news media and doctored the official records of phone conversations at the start of the war involving the prime minister, according to officials briefed on the cases who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a sensitive matter. The prime minister has denied the accusations, calling them "fake news" intended to undermine his authority at a sensitive moment in Israel's wars on several fronts.

The two developments have sharpened a yearslong dispute within Israeli society about Netanyahu's integrity, one that helped lead to five elections in less than four years and played a role in years of street protests.

Netanyahu and his supporters have long argued that the trial is a confected effort to force an elected leader from power on spurious legal grounds instead of at the ballot box.

His critics, including former allies who broke with him over the issue, say that the trial is a legitimate attempt to hold Netanyahu to account for wrongdoing and that his decision to remain in power while standing trial means that he has prioritized his personal goals over the national interest.

The recent allegations about Netanyahu's aides have given fresh momentum to that criticism.

One aide, who is under arrest, stands accused of helping to leak classified documents to a foreign news outlet, according to six defense officials familiar with the case. The aide is thought to have done so to help build public opposition to a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu had an interest in stoking that opposition: The prime minister's coalition could have collapsed if a truce was reached before Hamas was completely defeated, because several far-right lawmakers within the coalition had threatened to quit.

Separately, police officers are investigating a complaint that officials in the prime minister's office tampered with the records of phone calls made by the prime minister on the first day of the war, according to six defense officials briefed on the case. Records detailing what and when the prime minister knew about Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, could prove important in any inquiry into the failure by Israeli political and military leaders -- including the prime minister -- to prevent the attack and later stem its consequences.

A former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said his insistence on an independent investigation into such security failures was one of the reasons Netanyahu fired him from his Cabinet post last week. The prime minister has said that an inquiry must wait until the war is over.

Netanyahu's office declined to comment for this article, but he has publicly denied the claims and presented himself as the victim of double standards.

In a strongly worded statement issued over the weekend, Netanyahu questioned why the security services do not appear to have investigated what he described as a "tsunami of leaks" made by others throughout the war, including about Cabinet meetings, negotiations with Hamas and political disagreements within the government.

"Hezbollah and Iran receive, at times on live television, transcripts of discussions among us about the plans of action against them and our internal debates," Netanyahu said. "On all those, zero investigations have been conducted. Zero."

He added: "We know exactly what's going on here. This is an organized manhunt meant to undermine the state's leadership and weaken us at the height of the war."