After several delays, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will appear in court for a trial hearing next month, six weeks before the national elections, the Jerusalem District Court said Monday.
The court adjourned the hearing as a result of the nationwide national lockout, according to which only emergency proceedings should still take place. This means that a subsequent court hearing, which included the presentation of evidence and the hearing of witnesses, will be adjourned.
Netanyahu made headlines internationally with his first court appearance last year
The hearing will now take place on February 8 at 9am, just six weeks before the general elections on March 23.
The prime minister’s defense adviser argued that Netanyahu needed a 30-day extension to prepare a response to the amended conviction filed against him Sunday in Case 4000.
The case, that is one of three against, accusing the prime minister of wanting good media coverage from then-head Bezeq Shaul Elovitch on the Walla website owned by the telecom giant as a reward for beneficial regulatory measures.
The request for an extension came along with the other defendants in the case, Elovitch and his wife Iris, as well as Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Ynet accused in the 2000 Case separately.