Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit announced on Wednesday that the pre-indictment hearing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be postponed by at least three months to allow his legal team to go over the prosecution's material.
The Justice Ministry has previously said the hearing would take place by July 10, but Mendelblit's office said on Wednesday that the much-anticipated hearing would at the beginning of October. Netanyahu's lawyers had reportedly asked for at least a year.
Several months ago Mendelblit released a report laying out the charges against Netanyahu in three corruption cases, saying he would make a final decision on an indictment after Netanyahu appeared for a hearing.
The charges include allegations that he accepted gifts from billionaire friends and promoted beneficial regulations for a telecom magnate in exchange for positive coverage on a news site.
The recently reelected Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has called the charges the product of a media-orchestrated witch hunt to depose him.
The criminal investigations facing Netanyahu, known as Case 1,000, Case 2,000 and Case 4,000, have clouded his premiership and were a central issue during the recent election.
Case 1,000 centers on expensive gifts Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, allegedly received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian tycoon James Packer.
Case 2,000 focuses on an alleged deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes in which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu tone in return for the prime minister acting to curtail Yedioth rival Israel Hayom's activities to benefit Yedioth financially.
Case 4,000 revolves around allegations of a deal in which Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq, ensured positive coverage for Netanyahu in the Bezeq-owned Walla news website in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulations worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company.
