Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received good news on Monday: the evidence phase of his trial will only begin after Israel’s election on March 23.
Why it matters: Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud in connection with a series of corruption scandals. If testimony and the presentation of evidence had begun before the election, it could have dominated the news cycle and damaged its hopes of winning a majority.
- Instead, they begin on April 5 with three hearings a week, the judges overseeing the trial announced Monday.
- The bad news for Netanyahu is that the hearings coincide with the post-election process of forming a government.
- Between the lines: A new right-wing majority is likely to pass laws seeking to end Netanyahu’s trial.
Flash back: At the court hearing two weeks ago in which Netanyahu pleaded not guilty, his lawyers asked that the evidence phase be postponed for another three to four months. They cite procedural reasons and do not mention the election.
- But a few hours after Netanyahu left the courtroom, he denounced the charges against him, arguing that he was being postponed until after the election, saying that the start of the trial before March 23 was like a blatant interference in the election. will look like. ‘
Send the news: The judges rejected Netanyahu’s demands that two of the charges against him be declared null and void on procedural grounds and that some evidence be banned because it was allegedly illegally collected. They did criticize the attorney general for the process by which the investigation into Netanyahu was authorized.