Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial will resume on Sunday, now that the state of emergency order was lifted following the implementation of the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
“With the lifting of the state of emergency and the return of the judicial system to work, hearings will resume as usual,” a statement from the court reads, adding that they will take place between Sundays and Wednesdays.
The emergency order that closed schools and workplaces was lifted on Wednesday.
Netanyahu was the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be charged with a crime when the charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust were brought against him in 2019. The trial began in 2020 but has faced significant delays in part due to the various conflicts that have stemmed from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
President Donald Trump has urged Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, to pardon Netanyahu.
“He promised me five times that he would grant him a pardon,” Trump said in early March, adding that the Israeli president is “a disgrace.”
The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, contingent upon Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which includes Israel stopping its attacks on Iran and Iran stopping its attacks on Israel. The agreement was already in limbo a day later when Israel carried out a major attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli and U.S. officials said the requirements of the ceasefire did not preclude Israel from continuing to target Hezbollah, though Iranian officials disputed that and threatened not to open the strait as a result of the operation.
HOW IRAN HAS CHANGED FROM THE START OF THE WAR UNTIL THE CEASEFIRE
U.S. and Iranian delegations are expected to meet in Islamabad over the weekend to start negotiations. The U.S. delegation will be led by Vice President JD Vance, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
There have already been disputes over whose agreed to what on specific topics, including Lebanon’s inclusion or exclusion, and it remains to be seen whether the two sides will be able to bridge the large gaps between their viewpoints on various aspects of the negotiations.