Israeli President Isaac Herzog attends a state ceremony for fallen Israeli soldiers whose burial place is unknown at Mount Herzl Military cemetery in Jerusalem on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Trump said he does not want Netanyahu “distracted by anything” other than the ongoing conflict.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog should immediately grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon so that the Israeli leader can concentrate fully on the war with Iran, according to remarks Trump made in an interview with N12.
Trump said he does not want Netanyahu “distracted by anything” other than the ongoing conflict and urged Herzog to act without delay.
“Herzog should give Netanyahu a pardon today,” Trump said, according to the N12 report.
During the interview, Trump sharply criticized Herzog and claimed the Israeli president had previously indicated that a pardon would be forthcoming. Trump said Herzog had “promised me five times” that he would pardon Netanyahu and asserted that the two men had discussed the issue repeatedly over the past year.
Trump also warned that he was prepared to make those conversations public. “Tell him I’m exposing him,” Trump said, according to the report.
Herzog rejected the allegation that he had made any commitment regarding a pardon and said the matter is not currently under consideration because of the ongoing war.
In a statement, Herzog’s office said the president would not address the issue while the country is mobilized for the conflict.
“At a time when we are all mobilized, the President of the State is not dealing with the issue of a pardon for Prime Minister Netanyahu. President Herzog deeply respects and greatly appreciates President Trump’s enormous contribution to Israel’s security, views him as the leader of the free world and a key ally of the State of Israel, and particularly values his firm stance against Iran,” the statement said.
The statement also explained that Netanyahu’s request is still undergoing the required legal review.
“The prime minister’s request is, under the procedures, currently with the Justice Ministry for a legal opinion, and once the process is completed, the President will examine the request in accordance with the law, the good of the state, and the dictates of his conscience, without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind,” the statement added.
The issue of clemency for Netanyahu has resurfaced as the prime minister continues to stand trial in his long-running corruption case, prompting renewed debate about the scope of presidential pardons in Israel.
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