Herzog pushes for Netanyahu plea deal, saying pardon discussions premature

President Isaac Herzog’s office confirms that the president is seeking to reach a plea bargain between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prosecutors over the premier’s corruption trial, which is now in its seventh year.

Herzog’s office issues its statement in response to a New York Times report citing officials close to the president.

“As he has said several times in the past, 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 says.

“Negotiations for an arrangement are a necessary part of the attempt to bring the parties to an agreement.

“Therefore, 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.”

According to the New York Times report attributed to “two senior Israeli officials with direct knowledge of Mr. Herzog’s thinking,” the president does not plan to grant Netanyahu’s pardon request in the near future and believes there are options other than to accept or reject the pardon request.

The officials did not, however, provide any details of what the plea bargain might look like.