Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the country’s president for a pardon in his years-long corruption trial, claiming that the criminal proceedings are hindering his ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for Israel.
Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, has long denied the charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. His lawyers, in a letter to the president’s office, said the prime minister still believes that the legal process would result in his full exoneration.
“My lawyers today sent a request for a pardon to the president of the country. I expect anyone who wants the good of the country to support this step,” Netanyahu said in a short video statement published by his Likud party.
President Isaac Herzog’s office yesterday announced that the request had been received, publishing the lawyers’ letter. Herzog’s office said the request will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, which is standard practice, in order to collect opinions that will be delivered to the president’s legal adviser, who will formulate a recommendation for the president.
Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a close ally of the prime minister.
In the letter, Netanyahu’s lawyers argued that the criminal proceedings against him have deepened social divisions and that ending the trial is necessary for national reconciliation. They also wrote that the increasingly frequent court hearings are burdensome while the prime minister is trying to govern.
“I must testify three times a week… This is an impossible demand that is not imposed on any other citizen,” Netanyahu said in the video statement, stressing that he has earned public trust through repeated election victories. Neither the prime minister nor his lawyers have admitted guilt.
Pardons in Israel are traditionally granted only after a judicial process has concluded, and the accused has been convicted. Netanyahu’s lawyers argued that the president can intervene where public interest is at stake, as in this case, with the aim of healing divisions and strengthening national unity.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement that Netanyahu should not be pardoned without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life.
