New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has requested the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to “fully pardon” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is on trial in three separate graft cases.
In a letter to Herzog Wednesday, Trump termed Netanyahu as a “formidable and decisive war time prime minister”.
“As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive war time prime minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords (sic),” Trump states.
The US President termed the corruption charge against Netanyahu as “political, unjustified prosecution”, while stressing that he “respects the independence of the Israeli Justice System”.
Netanyahu has been charged with one count of bribery and three counts each of fraud and breach of trust in separate corruption cases. The trial began in 2020.
Trump further states that the Israeli PM’s attention cannot be “unnecessarily diverted” from Tel Aviv’s long-standing “adversaries”.
Netanyahu also referenced Trump’s support while testifying earlier in the day, telling prosecutors that world leaders are “amazed” by the absurd investigations into his activities.
The Israeli President, however, has refused to pardon Netanyahu, calling for the process of pardon to be respected, according to The Times of Israel.
“Without detracting from the above, as the president has made clear on multiple occasions, anyone seeking a pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures,” Herzog’s office said in a statement, published by The Times of Israel.
While the presidency in Israel is largely ceremonial, the office has the power to pardon convicted felons, as well as hand out clemency petitions.
Israeli prosecutors in the first case against Netanyahu have alleged that the PM received gifts such as cigars and bottles of champagne in exchange for favours to businesspersons.
Netanyahu has also been accused of offering to improve the circulation of a local newspaper in exchange for positive coverage and, in the last case, he allegedly supported regulatory decisions in favour of an Israeli telecommunications operator in exchange for positive news coverage.
Opposition politicians in Israel slammed Trump for his letter and criticised Netanyahu.
Yair Lapid, Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset, said Israel is not “a protectorate state”, while urging Netanyahu to stop running to Trump “every time to ask for help”.
“Reminder: Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse for the actions,” Lapid said in a post on X.
This is not the first time Trump has attempted to defend foreign leaders close to him facing prosecution.
Trump has been a huge supporter of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who was this year sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment for a coup attempt after losing the elections in 2023.
This July, Trump released a letter written to incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, terming the treatment meted out to Bolsonaro as an “international disgrace” and calling for the “witch hunt” (trial) to end immediately.
“Due in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans (as lately illustrated by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which has issued hundreds of SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to US Social Media platforms…) starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Brazil a Tariff of 50% (sic),” said Trump in the letter to Lula.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Not bound by deadlines, India sends trade proposals to Washington. Ball now in Trump’s court