Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the presiding judge in Netanyahu's trial, Rivka Friedman-Feldman, rejected his defense's request to not hold four days of hearings per week, three of which he would testify on. She did not specify whether the defense had requested a specific number of days of hearings, but quoted Feldman as saying that "the hearings will proceed as planned."
In a related development, Channel 7 reported that the Ministerial Committee for Legislation in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) will discuss a bill on Sunday to freeze legal proceedings against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move the Bar Association deemed a "serious violation of judicial independence."
The channel reported that the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, led by extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, submitted the bill through MK Limor Son Har-Melech. The channel noted that the bill "provides the Knesset committee with the authority to halt criminal proceedings against Netanyahu or any minister in power."
The channel explained that this bill aims to freeze or obstruct Netanyahu's trial on charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust, adding that Ben-Gvir agreed with Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin to pass the law on Sunday, which will allow Netanyahu to halt his trial.
The Hebrew channel expected that the law, which will be submitted for discussion in the Knesset, would be approved. Meanwhile, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an unnamed official in the Israeli Bar Association as rejecting the bill, which he considered a "dangerous campaign against democracy."
According to the newspaper, he said that this project is a "serious violation of judicial independence," adding that "Netanyahu is obligated under a conflict of interest agreement not to interfere in his trial. This is a blatant violation and demonstrates his incompetence."
These developments come about two weeks after US President Donald Trump proposed to his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, in his speech to the Knesset, granting Netanyahu a pardon on corruption charges.
Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three corruption cases known as Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000. Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filed the indictment in late November 2019.
Netanyahu's trial in these cases began in 2020. He denies the charges against him, claiming they are a "political campaign aimed at ousting him."
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said last week that recent days had witnessed "political and legal moves aimed at canceling or suspending Netanyahu's trial."
In addition to his domestic trial, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on November 21, 2024, for committing war crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The genocide in Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023, has left 68,519 Palestinian martyrs and 170,382 injured, most of them children and women, and has destroyed 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure.
