By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has asked the Shin Bet security agency to help him avoid testifying in his ongoing corruption trial, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported Monday.
Netanyahu is scheduled to testify on Dec. 2 in a case involving charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office recently asked the Shin Bet security service to provide an opinion allowing Netanyahu to avoid testifying at his trial on security grounds,” the newspaper said.
The office cited security concerns, claiming that Netanyahu cannot remain in one location for an extended period of time where his arrival is known in advance.
The security service, however, refused to provide such an opinion and launched “an extensive review of the question of whether the testimony can take place as planned while maintaining the necessary security for the prime minister.”
In recent days, said the report, Netanyahu has faced pressure from his family and close associates to remove Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
Senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Haaretz that “the pressure being exerted for Bar's immediate dismissal stems from his refusal to provide the opinion sought by Netanyahu and his decision to instead seriously investigate the testimony's feasibility.”
This is not the first time that Netanyahu has attempted to avoid appearing in court. Last week, Israel’s state broadcaster reported that he had again requested a delay in his testimony, this time by two and a half months, citing his involvement in the ongoing Gaza war.
Netanyahu's trial began on May 24, 2020. Under Israeli law, he is not required to resign unless convicted by the Supreme Court, a process that could take several months.
Opposition leaders accuse Netanyahu of escalating the Gaza war to evade his trial and to achieve a victory that could protect him from conviction and secure his position despite the ongoing crisis since Oct.7, 2023.
Israel has continued a genocidal war, now in its second year, on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 43,900 people and injuring nearly 104,000 others.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio