According to a report by The Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply criticized the court overseeing his ongoing corruption trial, after it declined to cancel his scheduled testimony, despite what he described as pressing diplomatic and security engagements.
At the opening of his testimony, Netanyahu said he had been in contact with four world leaders within the past 24 hours and argued that his court appearance should have been rescheduled. Instead, the court agreed to shorten the session, setting his testimony to run between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“This whole thing is absurd, it’s ridiculous,” Netanyahu told the court, according to Hebrew media reports. During his remarks, the prime minister detailed a series of recent international conversations, saying they emphasized the demands on his time as head of government.
He stated that he had spoken with US President Donald Trump, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, and unnamed Arab leaders on various issues. He also said he held discussions with Nickolay Mladenov, identified as head of the “Board of Peace Gaza,” regarding developments in Gaza.
“In the past 24 hours I spoke with four heads of state — with [US President Donald] Trump, you can imagine about what; with the prime minister of the Czech Republic; with Arab leaders I won’t detail, on various issues; and today with [Board of Peace Gaza chief] Nickolay Mladenov about Gaza, where there are interesting developments,” Netanyahu said.
He further stated that these diplomatic exchanges were accompanied by internal security discussions. According to his remarks, he participated in three separate security briefings with senior defence officials during the same period.
Netanyahu used his court appearance to argue that the proceedings were interfering with his governmental responsibilities. He said the time allocated to his testimony was disproportionate given the scope of his duties and recent engagements.
“All of this, in addition to three security discussions with the senior defense establishment. And in the meantime, we’re devoting three hours to the question of how I responded to a headline,” he said, referring to ongoing questioning in the case involving his alleged ties to Walla news site owner Shaul Elovitch. “It’s absurd. They’re wasting the time of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu added……See More
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