Netanyahu submits pardon request to Israeli president Herzog

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted an official pardon request to President Isaac Herzog, the president’s office confirmed on Sunday.

Mr Herzog’s office acknowledged the “extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” adding that the president would “responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving all relevant opinions.

There was no immediate comment from the prime minister’s office. Mr Netanyahu faces a long-running corruption trial, denying the charges and pleading not guilty.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He was accused of accepting expensive gifts and exchanging regulatory favours with media owners for positive press coverage.

The trial began in 2020. Netanyahu has denied all claims against him and pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors allege that Netanyahu granted regulatory favours worth around £430 million to Bezeq Telecom Israel in return for positive coverage of himself and his wife on a news website controlled by the company’s former chair.

Netanyahu was also charged with fraud and breach of trust over allegations that he and his wife wrongfully received almost £170,000 in gifts from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer, and Australian billionaire James Packer, in return for personal favours.

The prime minister testified that the gifts were tokens of friendship, and that he did not act inappropriately in exchange for them.

The official request comes as Donald Trump wrote a letter urging Herzog to consider pardoning Netanyahu earlier this month.

The US president told Herzog that the case against the prime minister was, in his view, “a political, unjustified prosecution”.

Trump said in a letter shared on Wednesday that Netanyahu had been a “formidable and decisive wartime prime minister”, whose attention could not be “unnecessarily diverted” from a wider regional peace process.

“While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli justice system, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution,” Trump said.