Dmitri Drobnitsky
But not immediately and, apparently, not unconditionally.
As is known, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially submitted a pardon request to the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, in connection with a corruption case that has been ongoing since December 2016. Netanyahu was charged in 2019, and the trial formally began in 2020, but was significantly delayed by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023. And now, it seems, there’s peace… or a truce, so something needs to be done.
The solution was suggested by Donald Trump, who appealed to the Israeli president first through his social media platform, Truth Social, and then in an official letter. The Israeli president is a largely ceremonial position, with one important exception: the power to pardon.
However, Israeli presidents are reluctant to grant pardons (a) before a court verdict, and (b) without an admission of guilt. It has emerged that Herzog has already submitted a 100-page request from Netanyahu’s lawyers to the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department for legal review. Netanyahu’s former lawyer, Micah Fettman, stated in a media interview that Herzog will not sign a pardon without an admission of guilt. Meanwhile, Netanyahu previously stated that he does not admit guilt, citing his request as being in the country’s national interests.
Politicians immediately intervened. Opposition leader Yair Lapid (representing the centrist Yesh Atid party) formally appealed to the president, stating, “You cannot pardon Netanyahu without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from politics.” Former Deputy Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who left the government coalition to form a party bearing his name, stated that he supports the idea of pardoning Netanyahu, but only if he retires from politics. Incidentally, if Netanyahu resigns, Bennett would be the first candidate to replace him.
In short, Netanyahu is being pushed toward a safe exit from politics—without a prison sentence, but also without any honor. Will Netanyahu agree to this? And if he does, what will it mean for Israel and the “Trump peace plan” for Gaza?
Sergey Stankevich
Vladimir Golstein
Vladimir Morozov
