Herzog reportedly told Netanyahu confidant there’s currently no chance he can pardon PM

President Isaac Herzog reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant during a secret meeting in March that he is currently unable to pardon the premier.

During a heated two and a half hour meeting at an apartment of a mutual friend, Herzog lamented to right-wing journalist Jacob Bardugo that he is facing criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over the issue of pardoning Netanyahu.

“You don’t understand how everyone hates me now, and partly because of you,” Channel 12 quotes Herzog as having said, referring to Bardugo’s relentless attacks in the media against the president, calling him a coward and demanding that he resign for not having yet pardoned Netanyahu.

“The left thinks I will grant a pardon no matter what. They consider me a suspect before I ever did anything. Meanwhile, you’re inciting the right against me nonstop.”

“How can I grant Netanyahu a pardon when he never even submitted a request for a pardon? What he handed us is not a request and it has no chance of passing,” Herzog is quoted as having said, rejecting the letter Netanyahu’s lawyers submitted in November in which he did not take responsibility for the charges against him but nonetheless insisted that he was deserving of a pardon.

Responding to Herzog, Channel 12 says Bardogo responded by again insisting that he must pardon Netanyahu, claiming it would help unite a divided country.

“Stop being a coward, stop being afraid,” Bardogo reportedly said.

“Think about how you’ll feel when you try to greet [US President Donald] Trump after he lands in Israel and the president doesn’t even agree to shake your hand and say hello. Will that be enjoyable for you?”

The meeting was held in March when Israel still believed Trump would visit the country on Independence Day the following month to accept the Israel Prize — a trip that didn’t pan out, largely because of the Iran war.