US President Donald Trump said the corruption trial was a “witch hunt” and called for it to be canceled.
Israel’s attorney general on Friday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to postpone his corruption trial for two weeks, according to public broadcaster KAN.
Citing the broadcaster, the Anadolu news agency reported that Netanyahu had asked the Jerusalem District Court to delay his trial claiming he needed to focus on other matters following the Israeli aggression on Iran, as well as the return of Israeli captives from Gaza.
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However, the attorney general refused Netanyahu’s request to postpone the trial sessions, which are expected to resume on Monday, the report stated.
The attorney general said, “the general reasons detailed in the request cannot justify canceling two weeks of hearings.”
As a result, Netanyahu is expected to appear before the court on Monday as planned.
Smotrich, Ben-Gvir Outraged
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized both the attorney general and the judges, stating on X: “The Attorney General’s Office and the judges of Netanyahu’s government continue with yet another display of astonishing detachment, insisting on being petty dwarfs, devoid of any strategic vision or understanding of reality, and lacking judgment and a minimal grasp of priorities and national interests.
“They seem determined to help us highlight for the public the destructive and dangerous corruption that has taken hold of the judicial system, and the urgent need to reform it,” he added.
Responding to US President #DonaldTrump‘s remarks regarding Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, where he insisted that it “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero,” Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, warned Trump against… pic.twitter.com/yQb3n4jpnS
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 26, 2025
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also criticized the court’s decision, calling it a “detached and miserable decision.”
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi echoed the criticism, saying: “They live in their own world, isolated… Shame on them!”
Likud lawmaker Avichai Buaron said Netanyahu should simply notify the court and the attorney general that “his duty to the state and the national interest outweigh the need for four more evidentiary hearings, and that he won’t attend in the next two weeks.”
Trump Intervenes
For several months, Netanyahu has appeared twice a week before the court to respond to the charges against him but the sessions were halted during the recent Israel-Iran war that began on June 13 and lasted for 12 days.
On Thursday, Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for calling for his corruption trial to be canceled.
“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Describing the trial “a witch hunt,” Trump said that perhaps there is “no one that I know who could have worked in better harmony with the President of the United States, ME, than Bibi Netanyahu.”
Trump added, “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu. THIS TRAVESTY OF ‘JUSTICE’ CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!”
Charges of Bribery
The call by Trump reportedly sparked wide controversy and division in Israel.
Supporters of Netanyahu welcomed it, while the opposition urged Trump not to interfere in Israel’s judicial process.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust that could lead to imprisonment if proven.
In January, Netanyahu began interrogation sessions related to Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000, which he denies. The attorney general filed an indictment related to these cases at the end of November 2019.
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Case 1000 involves Netanyahu and his family receiving expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for favors.
Case 2000 concerns alleged negotiations with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, to gain positive media coverage.
Case 4000, considered the most serious, involves providing facilitation to Shaul Elovitch, the former owner of the news site Walla and a telecommunications company Bezeq, in return for favorable media coverage.
(Anadolu, PC)
