Half of Israelis oppose a pardon for prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Mr Netanyahu, who is facing three separate corruption charges, asked president Yitzhak Herzog for a pardon last week.
A survey released on Tuesday, conducted by the Viterbi Centre for Public Opinion and Policy Research, found that 50 per cent of Israelis oppose granting Mr Netanyahu a pardon that would halt his criminal proceedings; 41 per cent support granting a pardon.
Support for a pardon varies widely according to political orientation - 7 per cent of voters who tend to vote left, 20 per cent from the centre, and 58 per cent from the right.
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As Israeli head of state, Mr Herzog has the sole mandate to issue pardons.
Mr Herzog is expected to meet this week with several prominent activists who oppose the government’s judicial overhaul to discuss the pardon request. There is speculation that he favours a pardon in return for “concessions” from Mr Netanyahu that could moderate the attacks by his right-wing government on the judiciary.
Mr Herzog responded to Mr Netanyahu’s request by saying he will “sincerely consider it”. Sources familiar with the matter said the examination of the request would take many weeks.
Alluding to a call by US president Donald Trump for him to issue a pardon, Mr Herzog said: “I respect president Trump’s friendship and his opinion,” but added, “Israel, naturally, is a sovereign country”.
Mr Netanyahu did not admit guilt, express remorse or indicate any readiness to step down as prime minister in return for clemency, arguing that after a pardon he would be free to more effectively advance Israel’s interests. This week he made it clear he would not step down as prime minister in return for a presidential pardon.
He 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.
Mr Netanyahu’s lawyers wrote that the termination of his trial would allow for “the healing of rifts between different parts of the nation” and strengthen national resilience and security. They argued that the president has the authority to pardon their client even without a conviction, citing US president Richard Nixon’s pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.
Tuesday’s survey also revealed that the Israeli public is expecting a war in the coming year.
Some 71 per cent of Israelis think there will be a renewed military conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon, 69 per cent expect another confrontation with Iran, 53 per cent think that the war against Hamas will restart, and 47 per cent think there will be a conflict with Houthi militants in Yemen.
