Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimonies in his criminal trial hearings have been canceled for next week due to his diplomatic visit to the United States.
The request, submitted by Netanyahu’s defense team, was approved by the prosecution, which is in the middle of cross-examination. However, the prosecution did request that additional testimony dates be added in their stead before the courts go on summer recess from July 21 through September 5. According to a court decision from a few weeks ago, Netanyahu is scheduled to testify that week on Monday, July 21, and Tuesday, July 22.
Netanyahu's trip to washington
Netanyahu is slated to depart on Sunday and return either on Thursday or Friday. The prime minister is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and the heads of the Senate and the House.
He will also likely conduct other classified security meetings. The visit comes as reports indicate some movement on a hostage and ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas War. Fifty hostages remain held in Hamas captivity.
Currently, the prime minister is scheduled to testify twice a week, with testimonies from other defense witnesses coming once a week. In lieu of Netanyahu’s testimony, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the courts will hear testimonies from the other defense witnesses.
The request follows a closed-door discussion between Netanyahu’s lawyers and Jerusalem District Court Judges Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Oded Shaham, and Moshe Bar-Am on Sunday. This meeting led to the cancellation of testimonies this week.
When Israel attacked Iran on June 13, the courts went into an emergency operation mode, which included the cancellation of all testimonies in the cases against the prime minister.
When a ceasefire was called between Israel and Iran and non-essential operations across the country resumed, Netanyahu’s defense team asked to pause the hearings for two weeks due to what it said was a significant need for the prime minister to focus on the Gaza front and the issue of the hostages.
The prosecution rejected that request, and the court said that, based on what was seen of the prime minister’s planned schedule, there was no reason to cancel, only to begin late on Monday.
On Sunday, the judges agreed to cancel this week’s testimonies following the closed-door meeting with the prime minister and other security officials, including IDF Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder and Mossad head David Barnea.