Netanyahu seeks presidential pardon in ongoing graft trial

Alisa Odenheimer and Galit Altstein, Bloomberg News on Nov 30, 2025

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted a request for a pardon from charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust for which he was indicted six years ago.

The request was submitted to the Legal Department of the Office of the President by the prime minister’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, the president’s office said in a statement. It comes after repeated calls by U.S. President Donald Trump in recent months for President Isaac Herzog to issue a pardon to Netanyahu.

In a video statement published shortly after his 111-page appeal was made public, Netanyahu said that his trial was undermining national unity and that the request “aims to help Israel seize new opportunities with the U.S.”

In accordance with guidelines and procedures, the request is being transferred to the Pardons Department in the Ministry of Justice, which will gather the opinion of relevant authorities within the ministry. That will then be transferred to the Legal Advisor in the president’s office to formulate a recommendation for Herzog. Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that a decision by the president is likely to be finalized in several weeks.

“The Office of the President is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” according to the statement. “After receiving all of the relevant opinions, the President will responsibly and sincerely consider the request.”

The charges against the prime minister span three cases and are being heard in a single trial. Netanyahu, who denies all the charges, says they’re part of an orchestrated witch hunt by those who can’t beat him at the ballot box — accusations that are rejected by prosecutors. His lawyer said in the appeal that Netanyahu is certain he’ll be acquitted if the legal proceedings continue.

The prime minister began his testimony almost a year ago and is still undergoing cross-examination. One case involves accepting luxury gifts such as champagne and cigars from friends allegedly seeking favors. In the other two, he’s accused of offering to help media-company owners in exchange for sympathetic coverage.

During his visit to Israel following the ceasefire in Gaza last month, Trump addressed Herzog while giving a speech in the Israeli parliament, saying: “Hey, I have an idea, Mr. President, why don’t you give him a pardon?”

He added, “Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?,” referring to one of cases in which Netanyahu is accused of accepting gifts from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan in return for attending to his affairs. This month, Trump wrote to Herzog requesting he use his authority to pardon Netanyahu.

The path to a pardon is complicated. It is typically reserved for those already convicted, and a preemptive presidential pardon has only been granted once in Israel’s history, by Herzog’s predecessor and father Chaim. He extended the concession to a group of Shin Bet officials under police investigation for the killing of two Palestinian bus hijackers in the 1980s. But that was part of a package deal in which the head of the agency agreed to step down and before any indictments had been made. There is no precedent in Israel of a preemptive pardon granted in the course of an ongoing trial.

Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of resigning, and in 2022 he turned down the offer of a plea bargain that involved acknowledging lesser wrongdoing in exchange for staying out of politics for seven years.

Last month, he announced that he plans to run in the next election, which must be held by October 2026. Though his ruling coalition has lost much of its public support since coming to power, his party still polls better than any other in opinion surveys.

Netanyahu’s appeal for a pardon is supported by his coalition allies, including Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Benjamin Netanyahu has earned the trust of the people time and time again and must be allowed to continue leading the State of Israel in the face of all the challenges it faces,” Katz said in a statement. “I call on President Herzog to support a decision that will allow the State of Israel to move forward unitedly.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Herzog to reject the appeal, saying that “you cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate retirement from political life.”

The trial has wrecked havoc in Israeli politics. After Netanyahu’s indictment, the reluctance of Israeli parties to join coalition governments with his Likud party contributed to a period of political instability. Because either no party could form a coalition or no coalition was stable for long, Israel had five general elections from 2019 to 2022.

After the 2022 vote, Netanyahu formed the current government with the only parties willing to partner with him — those representing Israel’s ultra-orthodox Jews and two led by hard-line nationalists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. The inclusion of these two made the government the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

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