Israeli court to continue hearing Netanyahu’s alleged graft case in early February – Reports
The next court session on the case of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, has been postponed and is slated for Feb. 8, the Haaretz newspaper reported.The newspaper cited a Monday decision by the Jerusalem District Court’s panel of judges presiding over the prime minister’s trial. […]
The next court session on the case of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, has been postponed and is slated for Feb. 8, the Haaretz newspaper reported.The newspaper cited a Monday decision by the Jerusalem District Court’s panel of judges presiding over the prime minister’s trial.
According to Haaretz, the court judges – Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham – Netanyahu and fellow defendants, Shaul Elovitch, his wife, Iris, and Arnon Mozes will be obligated to attend in person and respond to the accusations submitted against them.
At the end of last week, the court had ordered the postponement of Netanyahu’s hearing, which was initially scheduled for Jan. 13, over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.The postponement came less than 48 hours after the same court rejected the prime minister’s request to delay the Jan. 13 session.
As part of the tightened quarantine measures, which went into effect on Jan. 7 for a two-week period, the country’s courts are partially shut down, but judges can independently decide on holding the hearings.
Netanyahu has been the subject of multiple corruption investigations, including over claims that he received expensive gifts from various businessmen, advanced a law that would benefit one of Israel’s major newspapers, and supported looser regulation of telecommunication company Bezeq in return for positive coverage.
Because of the inquiry, the prime minister had to abandon all ministerial posts except the premiership amid Israel experiencing a lengthy political power crisis, as the country is now heading toward the fourth elections in two years triggered by the collapse of Netanyahu’s center-right coalition.The snap elections will hold on March 23.
The court proceedings are expected to take years.If convicted, the 70-year-old politician may face up to 10 years in prison for bribery and up to three years for fraud and breach of trust.
