Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial testimonies may support claims that it is impractical to hold hearings for a sitting prime minister during wartime than toward advancing the cases of the defense or prosecution.
Since the beginning of the prime minister’s taking the stand in the midst of the October 7 War, the proceedings have stumbled and halted repeatedly. The first hearing was on December 10, and now, two months later, only eight hearings have been held. Of the three cases against Netanyahu, only Case 4000 has been explored, with Cases 3000 and 2000 only lightly touched upon.
The hearings finally resumed at the Tel Aviv District underground courtroom on Monday after a week and a half recess, only for the Tuesday testimony to be canceled in the wake of Hamas’s Monday night announcement that it had suspended the transfer of hostages over alleged Israeli ceasefire violations.
The State Attorney’s Office on Tuesday morning filed a request to reschedule the canceled hearing for Thursday or Sunday, but it was more likely that the Wednesday hearing would also be canceled due to a precarious ceasefire arrangement. The judges presiding over Netanyahu’s trial rejected the prosecution’s request, deeming it not possible due to “various constraints.”
Various constraints had also led to a week and a half suspension of proceedings – Netanyahu had flown to the United States on February 1 for his first meeting with returning US President Donald Trump and American officials. Prior to the diplomatic mission, the prime minister had last stood before the court on January 27. Judge Moshe Bar-Am had fallen ill with influenza, leading to the cancellation of the January 29 and 30 hearings.
The single January 28 hearing was all that occurred between a December 29 prostate operation for Netanyahu to remove a non-malignant growth, followed by post-surgery infection, and Monday’s hearing.
WHILE NETANYAHU’S original request for two nonconsecutive testimony days each week had been rejected by the court in favor of three consecutive days, in practice there has not been a week with three full days. The prime minister often has business related to governance or the war that he needs to attend – such as his December 17 visit to the Golan Heights.
Even when hearings are held, they are often truncated to adapt to his schedule, or there are frequent breaks. Netanyahu often receives envelopes with sensitive information, much to the prosecution’s chagrin, and must take breaks to address their content.
The prime minister is, by his own account, still unwell and on a serious regimen of antibiotics. On his seventh testimony day, he said that he had not been able to properly recover between his government duties, managing the war, and the trial.
Israel is in the middle of a war, despite ceasefires on most of the fronts. These armistice agreements could collapse at any moment, and the prime minister will need to pick up the pieces. Netanyahu said himself in 2024 that Israel was in an existential war, which takes obvious precedent. In addition to this, there is the matter of the hostages still being held by Hamas, which is the chief preoccupation of Israeli society, to which citizens want the government to devote its full attention.
Even if the war were to truly end tomorrow, Netanyahu would still be tasked with more trips and endeavors as part of the normal fanfare of a prime minister.
With every testimony canceled, and with every new development in the war, the question that arises is whether it is futile to continue the trial during the conflict.
There are two immediate answers to this question depending on what side of the political spectrum one falls.
Critics of the prime minister suggest that if he cannot meet the requirements of the job, he should resign from the top portfolio. Netanyahu is suffering from prolonged illness because he is prosecuting the war alongside his normal duties, and is dealing with the trial. The demands and responsibilities are great, and they should instead be met by someone without legal complications. Netanyahu supporters, on the other hand, hold that it is reasonable to pause the legal proceedings until the war is over.
Country dragged along with Netanyahu
THE PRIME minister noted on Monday that “You’ve been dragging me through hell for eight years with your nonsense,” but the country has been dragged along with him. After eight years of allegations, and five years of trial, the prime minister has finally taken the stand – but it is unclear how long this process will take. Given both this uncertainty and how long Israel has had to grapple with this issue already, Netanyahu supporters challenge that there should be a further delay until the war’s end.
The likely outcome is neither of these options, and Israel will have to continue to slog through both the trial and the concurrent war. The State Attorney’s Office is unlikely to step back from its work, the judges are unlikely to make such a decision, and Netanyahu does not seem inclined to step down from power.
Netanyahu is innocent until proven guilty, should not have to resign if he hasn’t done anything wrong, and has already expressed that it is irresponsible to start an election in the middle of a war. He has worked to hold the reins of high office for decades, and likely does not want to surrender his power.
From the state attorney’s perspective, delaying the trial yet again could help the defense by giving them more time to prepare. They also may be disinclined to hold fire while the man they have been gunning after for years is within their sights.
The judges may be concerned by public backlash, as well as how indefinite pauses to a prime minister’s corruption trial, even if he can find suitable excuses, could impact the legitimacy of the justice system and rule of law. It is unknown when the war will end, if at all, and such an approach could lead to complete avoidance of any legal repercussions.
Despite the apparent impracticality of the prime minister’s due process during war, the only thing that the prosecution, defense, and judges can agree on is that this exercise in futility will continue – at Israel’s expense.