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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to oppose on Monday a decision by the panel hearing his criminal trial to expand the number of hearings to five days a week starting in October. The move, ordered by the Jerusalem District Court, has drawn criticism from defense attorneys who call it unrealistic and potentially counterproductive.

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The Jerusalem Post reports that Netanyahu was indicted in 2020 in three cases on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His trial has been taking place ever since, with Netanyahu testifying for about a year-and-a-half before stepping off the witness stand for the last time last week.

The panel, headed by Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham, ruled on Wednesday that proceedings would return to Jerusalem after Netanyahu completed his testimony. Beginning October 4, after the High Holy Days, hearings are to be held Sunday through Thursday.

Netanyahu's defense attorney, Amit Hadad, said on Monday that the decision would mean his team would work around the clock, which is "unrealistic." He argued that the change would actually slow down the trial - rather than speed it up - because his team wouldn't have the time to prepare witnesses properly.

"If the court wants to shorten this trial, the solution cannot be to stifle us - this is a shortcut that is actually long," Hadad said. "We simply won't be able to do it."

Hadad added that the only trial he managed to find that took place five days a week was Eichmann's trial, and he warned the prime minister that he wouldn't be able to provide a thorough defense at this rate.

The attorney representing Shaul and Iris Elovich - defendants of Case 4000 - Jacques Chen, recalled to the judges what they had once said, that this is a historic case unlike any other, both in scale and depth. "Five days is inhumane, unrealistic and mismatched to any human capabilities within these time constraints," said Chen. He further argued that the decision violates the Elovich couple's right to due process and echoed Hadad in the unrealistic preparatory requirements for witnesses. "This isn't the way," he said to speed up the trial.

Key claims

  • Netanyahu is expected to oppose the decision to expand his criminal trial to five hearing days a week, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • The trial, which began after a 2020 indictment on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, has seen Netanyahu testify for about a year-and-a-half.
  • The court's decision, made by a panel headed by Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham, would see hearings return to Jerusalem and occur Sunday through Thursday starting October 4.
  • Defense attorney Amit Hadad called the schedule "unrealistic," arguing it would impair the defense's ability to prepare witnesses and thus slow the trial.
  • Attorney Jacques Chen, representing other defendants in the case, echoed these concerns, calling the five-day schedule "inhumane" and a violation of due process.
  • Separately, Netanyahu has returned to testify in a NIS 500,000 defamation lawsuit he filed against protest activist Gonen Ben Itzhak and journalists Uri Misgav and Ben Caspit, concerning publications about his health and fitness to serve.
  • In that lawsuit, Netanyahu denies having had pancreatic cancer and argues the publications were false and defamatory.
  • The judges overseeing Netanyahu's criminal case have said their June 2023 position regarding the bribery charge in Case 4000 remained unchanged even after hearing Netanyahu's testimony and cross-examination. In June 2023, the judges had signaled difficulties in establishing the bribery offense and suggested the prosecution consider withdrawing the charge.
  • The prosecution can withdraw a charge during a trial, but at this stage, after the defendants have answered the indictment, withdrawal would lead to an acquittal on that allegation. The state could appeal that acquittal to the Supreme Court if the judges ultimately reject it.