Report: Herzog tried to influence, shorten proceedings in Netanyahu corruption case

A new report alleges that President Isaac Herzog has attempted several times over the last two years to influence the proceedings in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial.

According to the Haaretz daily, Herzog played a behind-the-scenes role in two separate attempts to have the case moved to mediation, which, if successful, could have shortened the lengthy legal proceedings and potentially allowed Netanyahu to reach a plea deal.

In the first instance, Haaretz reports that Herzog was involved in a 2023 attempt by the defense attorney to move the premier’s corruption case to mediation. The efforts fell through, however, after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara came out against the idea, believing it could have been a tactic to buy time.

Citing an unnamed political source, the report says that Herzog tried to intervene due to his concerns over the government’s contentious judicial overhaul legislation and the security risks that it posed.

He again worked behind the scenes to push for mediation in early 2024, Haaretz says, but Baharav-Miara again turned down the request due to the terms Netanyahu’s team set for a plea deal.

The report adds that Herzog also approached Baharav-Miara to speak to her about accepting Netanyahu’s various requests to delay the testimony in his corruption trial, due to the security situation.

Netanyahu’s testimony was indeed delayed several times before it finally began on December 10, 2024, although Haaretz does not specify whether this was the result of Herzog’s intervention.

Again citing an unnamed source, Haaretz says that the end goal of Herzog’s interventions is unclear, as sometimes it appears that he’s “trying to influence” the attorney general “after being approached by Netanyahu,” while at other times, “it looks like he genuinely wants to bring the Netanyahu saga to an end.”