Netanyahu pardon on ice as Israeli president seeks plea deal
April 26 (UPI) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog decided to hold off on a pardon for the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of corruption, opting instead to attempt to negotiate a plea deal.
Netanyahu has been on trial for six years on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust across three separate cases but denies he has violated any laws, calling the charges a “witch hunt.”
Herzog has been under pressure from Netanyahu, his allies and U.S. President Donald Trump to issue the prime minister a pardon, though he has held off as opinions in Israel are relatively split on the trials, The New York Times and The Times of Israel reported.
“President Isaac Herzog sees reaching an agreement between the parties in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cases as a proper and correct solution,” Herzog’s office said in a statement.
“The president believes that it is right to first, before discussing the pardon request itself, exhaust a process that could lead to the formation of an agreement between the parties, outside the walls of the court,” his office said.
Netanyahu became the first active Israeli prime minister to be put on trial in 2020, when he was charged with allegedly accepting cigars and champagne in exchange for political favors.
In the second case, he allegedly boosted circulation of an Israeli newspaper that offered him positive coverage and, in the third case, he allegedly promoted regulatory changes to benefit an telecommunications company in exchange for positive coverage by an online news organization.
Netanyahu in November requested the pardon from Herzog, whose office said at the time that it would consider the request and review it with justice officials because of the “significant implications” a pardon for such charges could have.
A plea agreement would require an admission of guilt, in addition to likely requiring Netanyahu to resign from office, which he has said is unacceptable and part of why he calls the trials an effort to drive him from office.
The trial “stirs divisions and deepens rifts,” he said in the request for a pardon, and said that “to repeal the threats [to Israel] and realize the opportunities, national unity is required.
