Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally asked Israel’s president to grant him a pardon from ongoing corruption charges in a bid to halt a six-year trial.
He has argued that it would be in the “national interest”.
His request was submitted weeks after Donald Trump called on Isaac Herzog to pardon Israeli prime minister
In a letter included in his legal filing as well as in a televised statement released on Sunday, Netanyahu argued it was in his personal interest to prove his innocence in court, but that it was in the interest of national unity to cut short the trial, because he claimed it was “tearing us apart”.
The Guardian reports: Isaac Herzog’s office acknowledged receipt of the 111-page submission from the prime minister’s lawyer, and said it had been passed on to the pardons department in the ministry of justice. The president’s legal adviser would also formulate an opinion before Herzog made a decision, it added.
“The office of the president is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” a statement from his office said. “After receiving all of the relevant opinions, the president will responsibly and sincerely consider the request.”
Presidential pardons in Israel have almost never been granted before conviction, with the one notable exception of a 1986 case involving the Shin Bet security service. A pre-emptive pardon of a politician in a corruption case without an admission of guilt would be precedent-setting and highly controversial.
The submission on Sunday comes weeks after Donald Trump wrote to Herzog to ask him to pardon Netanyahu, who has been on trial since 2020 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, involving alleged political favours for wealthy backers in return for gifts or positive media coverage.
Netanyahu rejects the allegations, and has condemned the case as a “witch-hunt” orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary. His critics have accused him of prolonging the war in Gaza to keep his coalition together so he can stay in office and keep his legal jeopardy at bay, but elections are due next year.