From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Knesset Speaker Ohana urges president to pardon PM after Mandelblit testimony
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Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana urges President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing today’s testimony in the trial by former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit.
“I was shocked to learn from the testimony of the former attorney general that even the remaining charges — after the panel of judges twice suggested that the prosecution withdraw the bribery charge — are based on illegal investigative actions carried out without his knowledge or approval,” Ohana writes.
Netanyahu’s attorney asked Mandelblit today if he had authorized every police action taken during the investigation into the prime minister, and the former attorney general said he did not, but that this was permissible and that he approved all the principal investigative actions.
Mandelblit said that he was angered by police placing a wiretap on Netanyahu’s then-chief of staff Natan Eshel and that it was subsequently canceled.
He also conceded that in Case 4000, where Netanyahu is accused of taking a bribe in the form of positive media coverage in return for favorable regulatory decisions for Bezeq majority shareholder Shaul Elovitz, he had not reviewed the 315 examples of alleged media bribery cited in the indictment. Many of those examples were discredited during Netanyahu’s testimony.
“This conduct, which exposes a series of failures, shortcomings and violations of the law, cannot end merely with dramatic reports in the media. It must also lead you to make a decision on the prime minister’s pardon request,” Ohana says.
The prime minister formally requested a pardon last November, arguing that the trial was tearing the country apart and distracting him from his duties. But he did not admit guilt, raising the question of whether he could receive a pardon while his trial was still ongoing.
The Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department completed a legal position paper on Netanyahu’s pardon request in March, determining that it was highly problematic and unprecedented given the premier’s ongoing trial, lack of conviction, and absence of admission of guilt or remorse.
Herzog has held off on reaching any final decision on the matter, though he was reported to tell a Netanyahu confidant that the request had “no chance of passing.”
The Times of Israel Community.