Jerusalem, 9 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial will resume on Sunday after a weeks-long suspension caused by wartime emergency measures, judges at the Jerusalem District Court ruled on Thursday.
“With the lifting of the state of emergency and the return of the court system to work, the hearings will resume as scheduled,” the panel said in its decision.
Under the restored schedule, hearings will take place on Sundays in Jerusalem and continue Monday through Wednesday at the Tel Aviv District Court. The next session is set for Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in Jerusalem, where a defense witness is expected to testify. For security reasons, Netanyahu’s testimony has taken place in a room underneath the Tel Aviv District Court.
The suspension stemmed from restrictions imposed after the outbreak of war with Iran, when Israel’s Justice Ministry placed courts under a special emergency format that limited activity to urgent matters. Evidence hearings, including Netanyahu’s testimony, were halted during that period. With a ceasefire now in effect, most courts have returned to normal operations.
Netanyahu made an unprecedented request for a pardon in a letter to Herzog in November. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized Herzog on several occasions for not granting a pardon, calling the Israeli president a “weak and pathetic guy.” Herzog hit back at Trump, saying, “Israeli dignity is not for sale.”
The charges stem from three separate police investigations. Netanyahu denies all wrongdoing.
In the case known as the “Bezeq Affair,” Netanyahu, while serving as communications minister, is accused of granting regulatory benefits to the Bezeq telecom giant. In return, Bezeq’s majority shareholder, Shaul Elovitch, allegedly provided Netanyahu with favorable coverage on the Walla news site, which he owned.
In the second investigation, known as the “Yediot Affair,” Netanyahu allegedly helped Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon Mozes by advancing regulations on newspaper distribution to Mozes’s advantage. In exchange, Mozes is accused of offering Netanyahu favorable coverage.
In a separate investigation known as the “Gifts Affair,” Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting $200,000 in gifts from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan in exchange for assistance with a U.S. visa and changes to tax provisions benefiting Milchan. This case is widely considered to be the most serious against Netanyahu.
Netanyahu, who was indicted in 2019, has spent roughly 80 days on the witness stand, first under questioning by his defense attorney Amit Hadad and later under cross-examination by prosecutors.
The court calendar may complicate efforts to complete testimony in the near term. The current judicial session ends on July 21, after which Israeli courts go into summer recess until early September. Holidays, including Independence Day, further limit the available time.
No serving Israeli prime minister has ever been indicted on criminal charges. Ehud Olmert stepped down in 2008 ahead of his own indictment for corruption. Olmert was eventually convicted and served two-thirds of a 27-month prison sentence.