Justice Ministry recommends against granting Netanyahu pardon

Israel’s Justice Ministry recommends that Herzog deny the prime minister’s request for a pardon amid ongoing pressure from Trump to grant one.

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli Justice Ministry has recommended that President Isaac Herzog reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon, Channel 14 reported Wednesday.

Last November, Netanyahu penned a letter to the president’s office formally requesting a pardon, ending his ongoing corruption trial.

The Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department announced Wednesday that it has completed its assessment of Netanyahu’s request, nearly three and a half months after it was submitted.

The announcement came a day after Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit) blasted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, accusing her of slow-walking the ministry’s response to the pardon request.

According to Wednesday’s report, the Pardons Department responded negatively to Netanyahu’s request, arguing that it would be difficult to justify on legal grounds the granting of a pardon in the situation.

Israel’s Supreme Court has already ruled that the president can pardon suspects on trial prior to their conviction but added that to qualify as an “offender” eligible for a pardon, the party seeking the pardon would have to admit guilt.

With Netanyahu’s trial ongoing and with no admission of guilt or remorse, the Pardons Department argued in its assessment that the prime minister does not neatly fit into the category of “offender,” thus complicating his petition for a pardon.

The Justice Ministry recommendation, which would normally go to Justice Minister Yariv Levin for review, was forwarded instead to Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu after Levin recused himself to avoid Supreme Court interference in the process.

Eliyahu announced on X Wednesday afternoon that he has begun consulting with jurists to pen his own response to the Justice Ministry recommendation while panning Baharav-Miara’s behavior, calling her alleged attempts to block the pardon process “unprofessional.”

Under Israeli law, the president has ultimate authority to approve or reject pardon requests.

However, traditionally the president withholds judgement until after the completion of the review process.

Once the Justice Ministry has issued its recommendation, the justice minister – or an alternative minister – can respond to the ministry’s assessment, adding their own recommendation.

The file is then forwarded to the president’s office, giving the head of state the opportunity to either issue a final decision on the request or seek additional legal opinions.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Herzog to grant Netanyahu a pardon, calling the failure to do so “disgraceful.”