Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to oppose on Monday the decision by the panel hearing his criminal trial to expand the number of hearings to five days in a week starting in October.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2020 in three cases on the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust; his trial has been taking place ever since. The prime minister took to the witness stand in December 2024, approximately eight years after investigations began in one of the most historic criminal cases in Israel.
Navigating the needs demanded by the ongoing and constantly-developing security situation, as well as stormy coalition balance, Netanyahu testified for about a year-and-a-half, before stepping off the witness stand for the last time last week.
Testing Netanyahu’s account and confronting inconsistencies in his testimony
His time on the stand began with direct examination by his defense team, which established his version of events before the court, and in response to the allegations laid out in the indictment. In June 2025, the prosecution began its cross-examination, which ended a little over a week ago. Cross-examination gave prosecutors the opportunity to test Netanyahu’s account, confront him with documents and prior statements, and challenge gaps or inconsistencies in his testimony.
The defense then took up a re-examination, which is more limited: it allows them to clarify matters raised in cross-examination and respond to issues that emerged there – rather than reopen Netanyahu’s testimony from the start. It will continue to do so for other key witnesses in the case, until each of the sides eventually gives their summaries, paving the way to an eventual verdict.
On Wednesday, presiding Justices Rivka Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham ordered that the remaining witnesses be heard in the Jerusalem District Court – and that when the next judicial calendar begins after the High Holidays, on October 4, that the testimonies be heard over five days.
Testimonies initially heard over three days
Originally, testimonies were heard over three days, to account for general proceedings, as well as the schedules of both the bench and the prime minister. However, as the hearings dragged on, the judges expanded the hearing days to four days-a-week in September 2025 in an attempt to meet the case’s demanding schedule, especially given the expected retirement of Friedman-Feldman in March 2028.
When the testimony days were expanded to four, the defense opposed it gravely, citing the heavy weight it would add to their already-intense schedules, especially given that the firm does represent other clients. The bench ultimately decided to keep the four-day split.
At a testimony hearing in Jerusalem on Sunday, Netanyahu’s defense attorney, Amit Hadad, told the bench his team was “completely shocked” at the judges’ decision, calling it a “critical injury” for the defense.
“We will not be able to do that,” he said, adding that they would fully address the issue on Monday – and that Netanyahu would be there as well.
The question remains where this will take place, as though the case was filed in Jerusalem, anytime Netanyahu has had to testify, he did so in the Tel Aviv District Court building, due to security needs.
On Sunday afternoon, a meeting involving security officials took place to examine the possibility of having him come to the Jerusalem District Court – and not to relocate the hearing to Tel Aviv.
