Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a huge relief on Sunday as the Jerusalem District Court cancelled Monday’s hearing into his long-running corruption trial.
The postponement came as the court accepted a request the Israeli leader made, citing classified diplomatic and security grounds.
According to a report by Reuters, the ruling said that new reasons provided by Netanyahu, the head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad and the military intelligence chief justified cancelling the hearings.
This comes amid US President Donald Trump’s call for the cancellation of the trial, which he termed as a ‘witch hunt’. It was unclear whether Trump’s social media post influenced the court’s decision.
Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – all of which he denies. He has cast the trial against him as an orchestrated left-wing witch-hunt meant to topple a democratically elected right-wing leader.
The court had rejected a request by Netanyahu to delay his testimony for the next two weeks on Friday. He had given similar arguments for postponement, citing diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which ended last Tuesday.
What had Donald Trump said on the Benjamin Netanyahu trial
Donald Trump has called the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu ‘insanity’, saying that the US wouldn’t stand for this.
“It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,”. He said Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to “stand for this,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Trump said Netanyahu was “right now” negotiating a deal with Hamas, though neither leader provided details, and officials from both sides have voiced scepticism over prospects for a ceasefire soon.
A spokesperson for the Israeli prosecution declined to comment on Trump’s post. Netanyahu on X retweeted Trump’s post and added: “Thank you again, @realDonaldTrump. Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!”
The Republican leader on Friday told reporters he believed a ceasefire was close.
