Israeli court denies request to postpone Netanyahu trial
The prime minister is being investigated for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three different cases; session is scheduled for March 17
An Israeli court on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay the start of his March 17 corruption case trial.
With the refusal of the Israeli court, the hearing will take place within the period in which the Knesset, as the Israeli Parliament is known, negotiates the formation of a new government after the March 2 elections – after two other inconclusive elections in the last 11 months. Netanyahu, who has been in power for 10 years in a row, risks losing his mandate.
The lawyers for Netanyahu – the first Israeli prime minister made to face justice during his tenure – asked the court to postpone the start of the trial for 45 days because they did not receive all the procedural material.
Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, who leads the three-judge panel scheduled to try Netanyahu, urgued that since the first session merely entails the reading out of the charges, the defense does not need to prepare a response.
“Accordingly, there are no grounds for justifying the postponement of the hearing,” she ruled with a finality. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The prime minister is being investigated for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three different cases. If Netanyahu is convicted, he can still appeal the decision. The final verdict may take years to be published.
After the March 2 elections , no coalition received the majority of votes needed to nominate a prime minister and form a government. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc was the most voted, but it lacks the 61 seats needed to govern. The opposition, led by former chief of staff Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party, was also unsuccessful in the task.
As long as no government is formed, Netanyahu holds the position of prime minister on an interim basis. Deputies in Israel do not enjoy parliamentary immunity, not even the prime minister.
born in 21 October 1949, Netanyahu has been Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, having previously held the position from 1996 to 1999. Netanyahu is also the Chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history and the first to be born in Israel after the establishment of the state.
The Israel premier was born in Tel Aviv and raised in both Jerusalem and the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania, United States. After graduating from MIT with a Bachelor of Science (SB) and a Master of Science (SM), Netanyahu became an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He moved back to Israel in 1978.
In 1984, Netanyahu was appointed the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a role he held until 1988. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset before becoming the leader of Likud in 1993; he then led the party to victory at the 1996 election, becoming Israel’s youngest-ever prime minister.