Israeli Media: Netanyahu's Defense Request to Reduce Trial Hearings Rejected

The presiding judge in the trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rebecca Friedman, rejected his defense team's request to cancel four hearings scheduled to begin in November.

In her official decision, the judge affirmed that deliberations will continue as planned, stressing that any postponement of the hearings must be done through a formal request in accordance with established legal procedures, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday.

Friedman wrote in the decision: "The hearings scheduled before us will be held as scheduled.. If there is a request to postpone any hearing, it must be formally submitted in accordance with established procedures."

This decision comes as part of Netanyahu's ongoing trial on corruption, fraud, and breach of trust charges, which has sparked widespread controversy in political and judicial circles in the occupied territories.