Secret deal to end Netanyahu trial fell apart over PM’s refusal to step down — source
In meeting with ex-Supreme Court chief Aharon Barak, premier’s lawyer suggested accepting conviction on minor charge but without leaving office; Barak insisted on PM stepping down
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attorney Amit Hadad sought to reach an arrangement to bring an end to his criminal trial several months ago through the mediation of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, it was revealed Thursday night.
In a January meeting in Barak’s home in Tel Aviv that included Hadad, Prof. Barak Medina of the Hebrew University, and the attorney for Netanyahu’s co-defendant Shaul Elovitz, Hadad sought to have Barak serve as a mediator with the prosecution, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, confirming a Channel 12 report.
The idea was to have Netanyahu plead guilty to a charge relating to Case 1000, one of the three corruption cases against Netanyahu in which he is accused of fraud and breach of trust in the luxury gifts scandal.
Hadad insisted, however, that Netanyahu would not accept a finding of “moral turpitude” in such a plea bargain — which comes with a seven-year ban on holding public office — or in an agreement whereby he would retire from public office.
Channel 12 also reported that Hadad hinted that Netanyahu could halt various aspects of the ongoing effort by his government to reduce the power of the judiciary if an agreement was made, since the prime minister could otherwise not intervene due to a conflict-of-interest agreement he signed in 2020. That agreement enabled him to serve as prime minister while on trial, but prohibited him from involvement in reforms relating to the appointment of judges.
Barak, for his part, insisted that Netanyahu must step down from the premiership for him to agree to mediate.
According to a source familiar with the meeting, the effort to reach an agreement broke down over that issue, and has not been revived since.
Hadad said in response to the report that neither he nor Netanyahu had initiated the meeting, but rather that he was invited to participate in the effort.
He also denied having hinted that Netanyahu would halt the judicial overhaul measures being advanced by his government as part of the agreement.
The revelation came following US President Donald Trump’s call Wednesday night for the premier’s criminal trial to be canceled.
A source familiar with the January meeting opined that the disclosure of that meeting at this time appeared aimed at legitimizing the idea of canceling Netanyahu’s trial by associating Barak’s name with the idea of bringing the proceedings to an end.
Following Trump’s comments, Barak told the Makor Rishon newspaper on Thursday that he still supported either a plea bargain or a pardon for Netanyahu.
Barak previously tried to mediate a plea bargain in 2022 between Netanyahu and then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit, and told Makor Rishon that if it were up to him, he would try and secure such a deal today.
The former Supreme Court president was, however, critical of Trump, saying he could not recall such an intervention in Israel’s judicial system having happened in the past.
Netanyahu is charged with the crime of fraud and breach of trust in the three cases against him, as well as one charge of accepting a bribe in the form of positive media coverage in one of those cases. The trial began in 2020 and is expected to last at least into 2027, not including potential appeals.
“I’m in favor of an agreement with Netanyahu. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a pardon or a plea bargain; the most important thing is that we come to an agreement. It can bring about calm,” Barak told the newspaper.
“I don’t know why it doesn’t happen. If it were up to me, I would make an effort to come to an agreement,” he added.
Although the president of Israel can technically issue a pardon to Netanyahu, there has only been one time in Israeli history in which a pardon was issued before a conviction. Legal experts have expressed doubt that such a pardon could currently be granted to the prime minister.
Barak nevertheless criticized Trump’s intervention, calling it “very troubling,” and said he could not recall such an event in the past.
In 2022, Barak mediated an agreement between Mandelblit and the prime minister, although Netanyahu ultimately rejected it.
According to reports at the time of the deal’s contents, the charge of bribery would be dropped, the charge of fraud and breach of trust might be dropped in one of the three cases, and it would be up to the court to decide whether the terms of the final conviction constituted “moral turpitude,” for which politicians are barred from public office for seven years.
Following Trump’s comments, the head of the Israel Bar Association, Amit Becher, said that if Netanyahu had requested the US president’s statement demanding the trial’s end, it would be a criminal offense.
“If Trump’s tweet in favor of stopping Netanyahu’s trial was coordinated with the prime minister, as the media has reported, then it’s a criminal offense,” Becher said, according to the Walla news site.
Becher said such actions would constitute prohibited intervention in an ongoing trial, and an attempt to pressure and influence the judges and the State Attorney’s Office.
The Times of Israel Community.