Netanyahu asks Israel’s president for pardon over long-running corruption charges
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The news: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial, arguing the proceedings were interfering with his ability to govern.
In a video released by his Likud party, Netanyahu told Israelis that “the continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts.”
“I am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs,” Netanyahu added.
He said he would prefer to prove his innocence in court but the national interest demanded otherwise, describing the demand to testify three times a week as “impossible”.
The context: Netanyahu has been on trial since 2020 and was indicted in 2019 for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three interlinked cases. He denies all wrongdoing and made no admission of guilt in the request.
The request came weeks after Donald Trump wrote to Herzog calling the prosecution “a political, unjustified” case and urging a pardon.
Opposition leaders including Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot said Netanyahu should not be pardoned without admitting guilt, expressing remorse and immediately retiring from political life.
Pardons in Israel have typically only been granted after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted, Reuters noted, while legal experts told The Associated Press a pardon cannot stop the trial while it is still ongoing.
Herzog’s office described the appeal as “extraordinary” and said it would be considered “responsibly and sincerely” after receiving legal opinions.
The sources: The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times
