Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court for the first time since he requested a pardon from President Isaac Herzog in his corruption trial.
According to Israeli Channel 12, Netanyahu’s trial session began on Monday “without the judges addressing the pardon request.”
The channel added that the Israeli premier requested the cancellation of his court appearance on Tuesday, citing “diplomatic and security schedules.”
Judges said they would consider the request, the broadcaster said.
On Sunday, Netanyahu asked the Israeli president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges that have pursued him for many years.
The request sparked divisions in Israel, as many opposed granting a pardon unless Netanyahu admits guilt and withdraws from political life.
Herzog said on Monday he would only think about what is in Israel's "best interests".
The issue is "clearly provoking debate and is deeply unsettling for many people in the country, across different communities", Herzog said in a statement.
War crimes, crimes against humanity
Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to cancel or shorten his court sessions, citing travel, security, and political reasons, or his preoccupation with Israel’s two-year military offensive in Palestine’s Gaza.
Netanyahu, whose trial began on May 24, 2020, is the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant in the country’s history.
He faces three separate cases of corruption, all of which the Israeli premier denies.
The Israeli premier also faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for him and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 over atrocities in Gaza, where over 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023.
