The news hit headlines in Israel without warning: On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Isaac Herzog to grant him an advance pardon, ending his corruption trial. This would be a highly controversial, almost unprecedented move, as presidential pardons are usually granted only after conviction.
Yedioth AhronothOne of Israel’s leading dailies published on Monday with the headline “Forgiveness Dilemma”, while the free-right daily Israel Hayom Admitted that “the request is unusual and has significant implications.”
In a televised video statement, Netanyahu argued that although it was in his personal interest to prove his innocence in court, it was also in the national interest to shorten the trial, claiming it was “tearing us apart.”
“Security and political reality, the national interest, demand otherwise,” Netanyahu said in his video statement. “The ongoing litigation is tearing us apart, fueling fierce disagreements and deepening divisions.”
Netanyahu claimed that “immediately ending the trial will help ease tensions and promote reconciliation, which our country so desperately needs.”
Trump supported the pardon request
Israeli commentators said the request came shortly after US President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Herzog on November 12, also seeking a full pardon for Netanyahu. Trump, a longtime supporter of Netanyahu, also demanded an apology during his speech in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in October.
Netanyahu is the only sitting Israeli prime minister to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. He has been accused of accepting luxury goods in exchange for political favors and seeking favorable coverage and benefits from media outlets, a telecommunications company and an Israeli publisher. Yedioth Ahronoth.
Netanyahu has denied all allegations and has repeatedly called the five-year trial a “witch hunt” against him and his family by the media, police and judiciary.
Netanyahu’s critics have long accused him of prolonging the war and other conflicts in Gaza to keep his ruling coalition in power and avoid legal troubles. The case against him has been drawn up amid multiple motions filed by his lawyers to cancel the hearing over delays related to the COVID pandemic, the political impasse due to elections – with Netanyahu returning to office in December 2022 – and diplomatic and security issues related to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
The prime minister faces another election in autumn 2026, but political analysts have speculated it could be brought forward depending on political developments.
“Netanyahu is not apologizing,” wrote columnist Ben Caspit. Maariv daily newspaper. “He wants a bypass route. Exemption from equality before law.”
Nadav Eyal, a commentator Yedioth AhronothDescribed the pardon request as a victory for Netanyahu regardless of the outcome. If former political rival Herzog rejected the prime minister’s request, he said Netanyahu would “take advantage of his victimization until the next election.”
And if the president grants Netanyahu clemency without forcing him to retire from politics, Eyal said, “Even better. The problem will be over. It will prove that Netanyahu was persecuted for years and now Herzog – even Herzog, the former leader of the Labor Party, has recognized it as fact.”
Pardon before conviction is highly unusual
A pre-conviction pardon is rare and highly unusual in Israel, especially if it is not linked to a guilty plea or resignation. There is no precedent for issuing an apology in the middle of a hearing.
As president, Herzog has the power to grant pardons at his discretion, and the former political rivals are said to have good working relations. But legal experts warn that granting amnesty could trigger a political and constitutional crisis that would ultimately play into the hands of Israel’s Supreme Court.
one in position paper Published by the independent think tank The Israel Democracy Institute on November 19, ahead of Netanyahu’s pardon request, research fellow Dana Blunder wrote that Herzog’s pardon risks establishing the president as an authority above the judicial system.
Blander wrote, “Presidential involvement while legal proceedings are still ongoing could undermine the rule of law, law-enforcement officers, and equality before the law.”
One of the rare exceptions is a case from 40 years ago, involving senior officials of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service. Those charged were accused of concealing the execution of two Palestinian terrorists involved in a bus hijacking while in custody. The current president’s father, Chaim Herzog, who was himself president at the time, granted a pre-trial pardon that was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
In return for pardon, opposition demands Netanyahu step down
Netanyahu’s coalition partners have supported his pardon request, but the prime minister’s claim that it would unite the country was quickly shut down by the opposition.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid told Herzog not to pardon Netanyahu unless he immediately resigns as prime minister.
“You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse and an immediate retirement from political life,” Lapid said in a video statement on Sunday.
This point was echoed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who wrote on X that he would support a pardon if it “would include an end to the trial as well as a dignified withdrawal from political life.”
Netanyahu’s legal troubles have been in the news several times during his recent tenure. Shortly after forming his government in late 2022, Netanyahu launched a controversial plan to overhaul the judicial system and limit the power of the judiciary, including legislation removing the Supreme Court’s ability to invalidate government decisions deemed “grossly unfair”.
The overhaul sparked nationwide protests, with critics accusing the Prime Minister of conflict of interest, pointing out that he himself was attempting to undermine the justice system during the trial.
On Sunday night, Israeli media were already speculating that Herzog might opt for a conditional pardon or try to revive a plea agreement. This could potentially be linked to admitting “wrongdoing” or limitations on Netanyahu’s political future – an outcome that Netanyahu has so far strongly rejected.
Any potential pardon is expected to take time. The request is first sent to the Ministry of Justice and then transferred to the Legal Adviser in the Office of the President for additional opinion, before the President makes his decision.
In a statement on Monday, Herzog said Netanyahu’s pardon request “is clearly provoking debate and is deeply troubling to many people from different communities in the country.”
When making his decision, Herzog said he would “consider only the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society.”
Edited by: Martin Kubler