TV: Ex-chief justice Barak to tell Herzog that Netanyahu must resign as PM in case of pardon or plea deal

Former Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak will meet with President Isaac Herzog tomorrow evening and discuss ways in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial might be brought to an end, Channel 12 news reports.

Barak has expressed support on several occasions for bringing the trial — now in its sixth year — to a close, but only if Netanyahu leaves office.

According to the TV report, Barak intends to tell Herzog that he is opposed to a pardon for Netanyahu, which the president can technically grant. Were Herzog to issue such a pardon, however, Barak would reportedly tell the president he must condition it on Netanyahu leaving public office.

The former Supreme Court president will also reportedly tell Herzog that any plea bargain with Netanyahu that ends the trial without him having to resign from public office would be unacceptable.

Last week, it was revealed that Barak met with Netanyahu’s lawyer in January in a bid to reach a plea bargain, but the effort faltered due to the prime minister’s refusal to step down.

A similar attempt to reach a plea bargain, also mediated by Barak, back in 2022, foundered for the same reason.

US President Donald Trump has brought the issue back to the headlines in recent days, after he twice called for the trial to be cancelled.

Netanyahu’s ongoing testimony in the trial halted completely during the recent 12-day war with Iran, during which all non-urgent court proceedings were halted. The hearings scheduled for this week were also cancelled when Netanyahu brought intelligence chiefs to argue that urgent national security and diplomacy matters required the prime minister’s full attention, after the court twice rejected the premier’s requests for a delay.

The Jerusalem District Court has repeatedly cancelled hearings since Netanyahu’s testimony began, due to what he has said are his duties as prime minister, scheduling issues, foreign trips, and medical problems, though the premier has claimed he could run the country and stand trial simultaneously.