Court Resets Netanyahu’s Trial Date

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust will resume on February 8, six weeks before the nation heads to the polls for its fourth election in two years. On Monday, the Jerusalem District Court announced the new date, after postponing the session last week amid tightening coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictions. The original date set for Netanyahu’s appearance, in which the prime minister was slated to plead guilty or not guilty, was this Wednesday, but following the decision by Netanyahu and his cabinet to impose a complete national shutdown, the prime minister’s judges chose to delay the session by one month. The February date will be Netanyahu’s second court appearance. During May’s opening session, the prime minister and some of his Likud party members staged a protest inside the courtroom, posing for pictures standing on court benches and delivering scathing statements in which the prime minister accused Israel’s justice system of staging a coup.