Rania R.a. Abushamala
29 April 2026•Update: 29 April 2026
An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to shorten the duration of his court appearance in his ongoing corruption trial, according to local media.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had requested overnight that the Jerusalem District Court limit his appearance on Wednesday to three hours, but the court denied the request.
The report added that Netanyahu cited “security-related schedule” to justify shortening the duration of the hearing.
He requested to begin his testimony in the Case 1000 trials at 12.30 pm instead of 9.30 am, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court for the 81st time, marking his first appearance since the outbreak of the war on Iran on Feb. 28.
Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases known as cases 1000, 2000, and 4000, for which indictments were filed in November 2019.
Case 1000 involves allegations that Netanyahu and members of his family received expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for favors.
In Case 2000, he is accused of negotiating with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, for positive media coverage.
His trial in these cases began in 2020 and is ongoing.
Besides the corruption charges, Netanyahu is also wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel killed more than 72,000 people in the enclave over a two-year period starting in October 2023. A truce was agreed upon in October 2025, but breaches have continued.
*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul
