Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Isaac Herzog to grant him a pardon during his long-running corruption trial that has bitterly divided the country.
In a statement on Sunday, November 30, the prime minister’s office said Netanyahu had submitted a formal request for a pardon to the legal department of the Office of the President.
The submission included a 111-page petition from his lawyer, Amit Hadad, along with a personal letter from Netanyahu. The Office of the President described the pardon request as an “extraordinary” move with “significant implications.”
Netanyahu’s trial, which began in 2020, is far from resolution. He faces one bribery charge and three counts each of fraud and breach of trust, spanning three separate corruption cases involving allegations that he exchanged favours with wealthy political supporters. He remains the only sitting prime minister in Israel’s history to stand trial and has not been convicted of any offence.
The request comes despite Netanyahu’s own remarks last month. On November 13, he publicly stated he would not seek a pardon if doing so meant acknowledging guilt.
The move also follows a letter sent on November 12 by former United States President Donald Trump to President Herzog, urging Israel to pardon Netanyahu. Trump dismissed the charges as “political” and “unjustified,” calling on Israel to drop the case.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged President Herzog to reject the request in its current form. “You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life,” Lapid said in a video statement.
Head of the left-wing Democrats party, Yair Golan, also criticised the move. Writing on X, he said, “Only someone guilty asks for a pardon. After eight years of trial, when the cases against him have not collapsed, Netanyahu is now asking for a pardon.”
With inputs from AP
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