Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman suggests US President Donald Trump may intervene and possibly sanction senior Israeli judicial officials if President Isaac Herzog does not pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“President Trump said it in a very clear way, I think, and he expressed his opinion and sent a letter,” Silman, a member of the ruling Likud party, tells i24 news, referring to the commander-in-chief’s insistence that Herzog should pardon the prime minister.
“And I think now, President Herzog needs to rise to the occasion and make a decision for the good of the security of Israel. And if President Herzog doesn’t know how to act for the benefit of Israel and for the nation, for brotherhood and unity, I think that, yes, President Trump may take additional steps and will be forced to intervene,” she says, adding that “may include sanctions and other things on senior officials in the judicial system.”
Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request to Herzog on Sunday, seeking an end to his long-running and unprecedented corruption trial.
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