November 30, 2025 / 8:30 AM EST / CBS/AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges, seeking to end a long-running trial that has sharply divided the nation.
Netanyahu, who has been contesting the charges, said the pardon would help unify Israel amid major regional changes. Opponents immediately denounced the move, saying it would weaken democratic institutions and signal that he is above the law.
The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu submitted a pardon request to the legal department of the Office of the President. President Isaac Herzog’s office called it an “extraordinary request” with “significant implications” and said the president will “responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving all relevant opinions.
Netanyahu is the only sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial, charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases alleging he exchanged favors with wealthy political supporters. He has not been convicted. He denies the allegations and has called the prosecutions a media, police and judiciary-orchestrated “witch hunt.”
The request follows public urging from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who earlier this month sent a letter to Herzog calling the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution.” In a videotaped statement, Netanyahu said the trial has divided the country and that a pardon would restore national unity. He also said being required to appear in court multiple times a week distracts from governing.
“The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts,” he said. “I am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”
Netanyahu has testified several times over the past year, but proceedings have been repeatedly delayed as he has dealt with wars and unrest stemming from the Hamas-led attacks in October 2023. His pardon submission includes two documents: a detailed letter from his lawyer and a letter signed by Netanyahu. Those will go to the justice ministry for opinions, then to the Legal Advisor in the Office of the President, who will prepare additional opinions for the president.
Many legal experts say a presidential pardon is unlikely to halt the trial. “It’s impossible,” said Emi Palmor, former director general of the justice ministry. “You cannot claim that you’re innocent while the trial is going on and come to the president and ask him to intervene,” she said, adding that only the attorney general can suspend proceedings.
The request drew swift criticism from the opposition. “You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse and an immediate retirement from political life,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid, urging the president to reject the plea.
