Netanyahu returns to court for corruption trial after month-long break

JERUSALEM (MNTV) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed his corruption trial at the Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday after a month-long break, Israeli media reported.

The proceedings were paused due to Jewish holidays and Netanyahu’s recent trip to New York for the UN General Assembly. Members of his ruling Likud Party, including several ministers and Knesset members, attended the hearing to show support.

Local outlet KAN reported that Netanyahu briefly left the courtroom after receiving an envelope from an aide during the session.

The trial’s resumption coincided with growing political calls for Netanyahu’s pardon, following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s public appeal to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday. Under Israeli law, the president can pardon individuals or commute sentences based on recommendations from relevant authorities.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Education Minister Yoav Kisch, both from Likud, backed the idea. Levin claimed the trial “should never have begun,” calling it unjust and harmful to state interests. Kisch argued the case should be dropped due to “serious security and existential threats” Israel faces.

Netanyahu faces three corruption cases — 1000, 2000, and 4000 — all of which he denies.

• Case 1000 alleges that Netanyahu and his family received luxury gifts from businessmen in exchange for political favors.

• Case 2000 involves alleged collusion with Yedioth Ahronoth’s publisher to secure positive media coverage.

• Case 4000, the most serious, accuses Netanyahu of granting regulatory benefits to businessman Shaul Elovitch, owner of Bezeq and the news site Walla, in return for favorable reporting.

The trial, which began in May 2020, marks the first time a sitting Israeli leader has stood trial as a criminal defendant.

Netanyahu also faces war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for atrocities in Gaza, where nearly 68,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — have been killed since October 2023.