Herzog set to discuss ways to end PM’s trial, as White House highlights Trump’s empathy
Report says president will meet Tuesday with ex-chief justice Barak, who plans to insist Netanyahu step down as part of any plea bargain or pardon arrangement
Former Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak will meet with President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday evening to discuss ways in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial might be brought to an end, Hebrew media reported Monday.
According to a Channel 12 news 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, 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.
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.
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 canceled on his Truth Social platform.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained Monday that the trial “interferes” with both Iran and Gaza negotiations because it requires the Israeli premier to appear in court “when he’s in the middle of negotiating a peace deal and bringing hostages out of a war-torn region.”
However, Netanyahu’s court appearances have not been known to interfere with the hostage talks. The premier led a ministerial consultation on the matter Sunday night that ended with no decision.
Asked to elaborate on Trump’s posts, Leavitt said the president “was simply emphasizing his empathy that he has for Bibi Netanyahu, seeing him go through what he’s going through with his own judicial system in the State of Israel.”
“Clearly, the president knows that very well. He, too, was a victim of a judicial system that was trying to put him in jail, but President Trump prevailed,” she continued, hailing Netanyahu for his cooperation with the US against Iran.
While Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called on Trump to respect Israeli sovereignty and not get involved with an internal “legal process,” members of Netanyahu’s cabinet enthusiastically welcomed Trump’s demand to completely halt the trial, dismissing the charges against the premier as political persecution of a leader they argue has saved the country from destruction.
On Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir endorsed the call to halt Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial during an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting.
“I am of course in favor of this, this call is justified, but a pardon is not the way, [rather a] cancellation of the indictment. A pardon means that the accused did something and is forgiven.”
Meanwhile, opposition National Unity party chair Benny Gantz said that “this is an internal matter of the State of Israel… and there is no room for external intervention or influence in this matter,” in response to a reporter’s question on the matter.
Netanyahu’s ongoing testimony in the trial was halted completely during the recent 12-day war with Iran, during which all non-urgent court proceedings were called off. The hearings scheduled for this week were also canceled 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 canceled 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 had claimed he could run the country and stand trial simultaneously.
As for the recent cancellation, top security officials told judges that there is an opportunity to change the face of the Middle East and for Israel to expand its circle of peace, including with Syria, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday.
The head of IDF Military Intelligence, as well as the head of the Mossad, were present at the court hearing, both of whom explained to the judges why it was necessary to postpone the testimony hearings for Netanyahu’s criminal trial.
The hearing lasted 10 minutes, unnamed sources told Kan.
Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery as well as fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000. He denies any wrongdoing and claims that all the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.
In Case 1000, he is charged with fraud and breach of trust surrounding allegations that he and his wife Sara received expensive gifts illicitly from Hollywood media mogul Arnon Milchan worth some NIS 700,000 ($208,000) and that Netanyahu violated conflict of interest laws when he provided Milchan with assistance in renewing his long-term US residency visa and sought to help him with tax issues.
In Case 2000, the prime minister is accused of fraud and breach of trust over his alleged attempt to reach a quid pro quo agreement with the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Arnon (Noni) Mozes, whereby Yedioth would give the prime minister more positive media coverage in exchange for legislation weakening its key rival, the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom free sheet.
Case 4000, also known as the Bezeq-Walla case, is the most serious case the prime minister faces, in which he is accused of authorizing regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Shaul Elovitch by hundreds of millions of shekels. In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Walla news site, which Elovitch also owned.
The Times of Israel Community.