Minister submits position paper on PM’s pardon request to president

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, acting in place of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, has submitted his position paper on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request to President Isaac Herzog.

A statement put out by Herzog’s office in response thanks Eliyahu, and adds that he will not be swayed in his decision by external pressure “from any direction” –an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump, who has harshly criticized Herzog for failing to immediately grant the pardon.

Usually the justice minister submits the position paper, but Levin delegated the matter to Eliyahu due to a possible conflict of interest.

Eliyahu has not stated openly what his position is although Hebrew media reports he backed Netanyahu’s pardon request. The far-right minister strongly indicated in several posts on social media in recent weeks that he favors issuing a pardon.

Together with his own position paper, Eliyahu also submits that of the Justice Ministry’s pardons department, which has said that it cannot recommend issuing the pardon since it found Netanyahu’s request did not meet the relevant criteria.

All the documentation submitted by Eliyahu has been passed to the president’s legal adviser Michal Tzuk. Tzuk will evaluate the position papers and then draw up her own position paper which she will submit to Herzog, who will make the final decision.

“Any attempt to influence the president’s decision-making process in any way, from any direction, will not affect the president’s judgment and will not change a thing. The president will act solely in accordance with the law, his conscience, and the good of the country,” Herzog’s office states.