Herzog freezes Netanyahu’s pardon request

Israel’s president reportedly suspends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request after calling for negotiations aimed at reaching a plea bargain.

By World Israel News Staff

President Isaac Herzog has frozen his handling of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon after Netanyahu did not respond to an invitation to open direct talks on a possible agreed framework to end his corruption trial, Kan 11 reported Sunday night.

Herzog invited Netanyahu a month ago to enter into discussions aimed at reaching understandings on the future of the trial.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara was updated on the initiative and expressed support in principle, but Netanyahu did not respond to the president’s approach.

The lack of response led Herzog to halt the process, Kan said. The report said Netanyahu’s testimony in the trial is expected to end soon and that once it does, the pardon request could become irrelevant.

Sources close to Herzog interpreted Netanyahu’s silence as a sign that the prime minister was not prepared to cooperate with the proposed compromise channel, the report said.

The president’s office said the report was “incorrect,” though Herzog publicly acknowledged earlier this month that Netanyahu had not responded to his call for talks.

Herzog has argued in recent weeks that the legal and political crisis surrounding Netanyahu’s trial should be resolved through negotiations if possible.

Speaking at the President’s Conference earlier this month, he said, “The right way is to reach understandings and agreements,” adding, “Once one side said it was willing to enter the room, I expect the other side to do so as well.”

Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases and faces charges of fraud and breach of trust, as well as bribery in one of the cases. He denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly described the proceedings as politically motivated.

The pardon request has placed Herzog at the center of a politically sensitive legal dispute. Netanyahu formally sought clemency while the trial was still underway, an unusual step that critics say would undermine the legal process if granted without a conviction, admission of guilt or political withdrawal.

President Donald Trump has also publicly pressed Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, citing national security concerns, including the war with Iran.

Trump criticized Herzog in February, saying he “should be ashamed” for not granting the pardon. Herzog responded at the time that the request was being handled under formal procedures and that he would examine it according to the law, the good of the state and his conscience “without any influence from external or internal pressure.”