Netanyahu prepared to run again, will not consider pardon that requires retirement

Netanyahu has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and has argued that the charges are politically motivated.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a pardon request to President Isaac Herzog, he expressed his intention to run again. He said he would not consider any proposal, such as those put forward by political opponents, that would require him to retire from public life.

Netanyahu’s attorney applied to Herzog’s legal department on Sunday. The document has now been sent to the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department, which will gather assessments from the relevant agencies.

Those opinions will then return to the president’s legal advisers before Herzog reaches a final decision. People close to the president said the review is expected to last at least two months.

Associates of the prime minister said he will not consider any pathway that demands his retirement from public office.

“He is planning to run again [in the next elections],” those sources said.

Herzog’s office said the president will examine the materials “responsibly and sincerely,” adding that the request “carries significant implications.”

Netanyahu has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and has argued that the charges are politically motivated.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett proposed Sunday that he would back a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if it were tied to Netanyahu’s permanent exit from political life, adding a new dimension to the dispute surrounding the prime minister’s legal case.

Bennett issued the position in a social-media message, arguing that Israel needs a way out of what he described as years of internal strain.

Bennett is viewed as a potential leading contender in the next Knesset elections scheduled for 2026.

His statement came just hours after Netanyahu filed a formal request for a presidential pardon with President Isaac Herzog, a move the President’s Office labeled unusual because of its potential consequences.