Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared Tuesday before the District Court in Tel Aviv for the 81st time since his trial began in 2020, responding to corruption charges against him.
Tuesday’s session marked Netanyahu’s first court appearance in nearly two months, his last having taken place on February 24, shortly before US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28.
The aggression started with airstrikes, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials and commanders.
Netanyahu had been scheduled to appear on Monday but requested the session be canceled, citing “security reasons.”
He is now in the final stage of his testimony, having already completed more than 80 days of hearings.
According to the prosecutor’s office, he still has approximately 11 full days of testimony remaining, along with a brief re-examination by his defense team.
“In the past two weeks, his hearings were canceled at his request, and since the start of the war with Iran, he has not testified, despite the resumption of all court sessions in Israel,” Israeli daily Maariv reported on Tuesday.
Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases, Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000, for which indictments were filed in November 2019.
Case 1000 involves allegations that Netanyahu and members of his family received expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for favors.
In Case 2000, he is accused of negotiating with Arnon Mozes, publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, for favorable media coverage.
Netanyahu is also scheduled to testify in Case 4000, in which he stands accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
According to the indictment, he maintained a bribery relationship with businessman Shaul Elovitch, the former owner of the Walla news website.
On November 30, 2025, Netanyahu requested a pardon from Israeli President Isaac Herzog without admitting guilt or stepping down from political life.
However, the so-called Israeli law does not permit a presidential pardon without an admission of guilt from the defendant.
Since the start of his trial in 2020, Netanyahu has denied all charges, describing them as a “politically motivated campaign” aimed at removing him from office.
In addition to the corruption charges, Netanyahu has been wanted since 2024 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and 172,000 wounded in the genocidal war since October 2023.
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