Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has requested to delay testifying at his ongoing corruption trial, fueling criticism that he is seeking to drag out the case in order to delay a verdict and, if convicted, a jail term.

A court in Jerusalem has been examining charges of bribery and fraud against Mr. Netanyahu, in a trial that began in 2020 and has been set to reach a crescendo this December with several sessions of testimony from the prime minister. He denies the accusations, which center on claims that he used his influence to help leading businessmen in exchange for gifts and favorable media coverage.

On Sunday night, Mr. Netanyahu’s legal team filed a request with the court to delay his appearance by two and a half months, according to Amit Hadad, one of the prime minister’s lawyers. The prime minister has been too consumed by running the country during wartime and needs more time to prepare his defense, Mr. Hadad said in a brief phone interview.

Critics countered that Mr. Netanyahu had an ulterior motive. The prime minister’s “only interest” is to “not to go to jail,” Yair Golan, an opposition leader, said in a radio interview. “Besides that, there is no other real consideration.”

The request came as Mr. Netanyahu battled to rebut separate allegations involving officials in his office.

Investigators are examining whether Mr. Netanyahu’s aides leaked sensitive intelligence materials to the news media and doctored the official records of phone conversations at the start of the war involving the prime minister, according to officials briefed on the cases who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a sensitive matter. The prime minister has denied the accusations, calling them “fake news” intended to undermine his authority at a sensitive moment in Israel’s wars on several fronts.