Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has submitted a request for a pardon to the country’s president Yitzhak Herzog in relation to his ongoing corruption trial.
He did not admit guilt or express remorse, and, in a video statement, continued to contest the charges against him and the legitimacy of the process by which he was indicted.
And, critically, he did not indicate any readiness to step down as prime minister in return for clemency, arguing that under after a pardon he would be free to more effectively advance Israel’s interests.
Mr Netanyahu has been on trial for five years, indicted on three criminal charges: bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate criminal cases. He denies any wrongdoing, describing the allegations as a witch hunt by left-wing law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and the media to topple him from power.
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Mr Netanyahu is required to attend three sessions a week in court but almost every hearing is accompanied by a request from his lawyers for cancellation or to cut the session short, citing urgent security issues or matters of state. The requests are made behind closed doors and are usually granted by the judges.
In a video released after submitting the clemency request, Mr Netanyahu stressed that “the security reality and Israel’s national interest require” him to seek a pardon.
In the request, Mr Netanyahu referred to the years of public discussion surrounding his trial. “Despite my personal interest in seeing the trial through and proving my innocence in full, I believe that the public interest dictates otherwise,” he wrote.
His attorneys told Mr Herzog, in an accompanying letter, that granting the pardon “would allow for the healing of rifts between different parts of the nation ... in order to strengthen Israel’s resilience.” Mr Netanyahu further stated that he is “committed to doing everything to heal these divisions, achieve national unity and restore trust in the state’s institutions.”
The president’s office said Mr Herzog would receive opinions from legal officials before considering the “extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications”.
The request comes just weeks after US president Donald Trump publicly urged Herzog to grant Netanyahu a full pardon, calling the case “political” and arguing that Israel needs Netanyahu focused on war and diplomacy rather than court hearings.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that president Herzog cannot accept Mr Netanyahu’s request for a pardon without “an admission of guilt”. He said Mr Netanyahu must express remorse for his actions and retire immediately from public life.
Another senior opposition figure, Benny Gantz, said the pardon request was an attempt by Mr Netanyahu to divert public attention from his effort to pass contentious legislation to exempt most ultra-Orthodox men from military conscription.
“Netanyahu knows that this request for a pardon, which does not align with the accepted process in Israel, is a complete fake,” Mr Gantz said. “He’s behaving like a firefighter who starts a fire and then demands protection money to put it out.”
Efforts in the past to reach a plea-bargain agreement to end the corruption trial reportedly failed over the prosecution demand for a clause that would require Mr Netanyahu to withdraw from public office.
The president has the constitutional power to grant pardons but such a move this is extremely rare and considered an exceptional step, particularly when there has been no conviction or acknowledgment of wrongdoing.
Mr Herzog now has to decide if granting clemency in such circumstances would undermine public trust in the justice system or, conversely, help stabilise Israeli politics at a time of war and diplomatic pressure.
