Likud cabinet members call on president to pardon Netanyahu amid corruption trial

Every member of the cabinet from the Likud party signed a letter on Tuesday calling on President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the latest effort to dismiss the premier’s longstanding corruption charges and end his years-long trial.

The letter, spearheaded by Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman and signed by every one of Likud’s 19 ministers and deputy ministers, contends that the trial is “harming the unity of the people” and says that Netanyahu is “leading a historic victory over the enemies of Israel.” It urges Herzog to seize the moment.

“These historic days have created a great opportunity for restoration and unity, through your use of your authority,” the letter read. “The entire nation is asking you to rise like a lion, act, and weave true unity into the people of Israel.”

Netanyahu is charged with one count of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust, in three separate cases relating to corruption allegations against him. His trial began in 2020 and is still far from reaching an end. Likud lawmakers have long supported Netanyahu’s repeated claims that the charges he faces are spurious.

He is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to go on trial, and routinely attends hearings for hours of questioning, though he has occasionally asked for them to be postponed or cut short, citing his official duties or his health.

The letter comes alongside a other efforts to relieve Netanyahu of a possible conviction.

In his address to the Knesset last week, US President Donald Trump called on Herzog to pardon the prime minister. Trump, who later implied that he had been asked to make the request, possibly by Netanyahu, has also posted on social media that he wants to “save Bibi” from the trial. He called it a “witch hunt,” the same phrase he’s used previously to deride investigations into his own alleged wrongdoing.

“I have an idea, why don’t you give Netanyahu a pardon?” Trump said in his Knesset address, in comments directed at Herzog. In a reference to the gifts Netanyahu allegedly received illicitly, he said, “Who cares about cigars and champagne?”

Herzog did not respond in the moment, but Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the issue has been on the president’s mind for some time. The president of the state is empowered to grant pardons to those convicted in court and, on very rare occasions, even before legal proceedings have been concluded if it is deemed to be in the public interest. The individual seeking the pardon or an immediate family member must make the request.

Netanyahu and his relatives have yet to do that. But Channel 13 reported on Tuesday, citing sources in the Prime Minister’s Office, that there are discussions underway about Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, submitting the request.

Herzog has reportedly explored avenues to grant a pardon in any case. He has spoken with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara about finding a way to end the trial, but she reportedly rebuffed the notion.

According to Haaretz, Herzog recently met with relatives of the hostages held in Gaza, including in the days leading up to the ceasefire deal that has seen the final 20 living hostages released, to urge them to publicly support a pardon for Netanyahu.

The logic behind that advocacy, the report said, was summed up by Haggai Angrest, father of Matan Angrest, one of the hostages released last week. Haggai Angrest suggested that removing the threat of a conviction could allow Netanyahu the flexibility to take political risks, including signing a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“Maybe if we relieve the prime minister of his trial, he’ll free our country from this injustice,” Angrest said last month, according to the report. “He’s bringing the whole country down to hell.”

Other relatives of hostages ignored Herzog’s appeal, the report said. Herzog’s office told Haaretz in a statement that he did not raise the issue with hostages’ relatives of his own initiative, but was responding to concerns they raised.

“This is a total lie,” the president’s office said in a statement. “The president never reached out, initiated or encouraged hostages’ families to talk about a pardon. There were many requests the president received following the remarks by Haggai Angrest, which sought to link a pardon and a hostage deal.”

The statement said Herzog explained the mechanics of a pardon and added, “The president expressed empathy for the effort to pursue every path to free our sons.”