US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog informed him about the planned pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog’s office quickly disputed the claim. It was reported by the Reuters agency, writes TASR.
- Donald Trump has claimed that Israel is considering pardoning Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The office of the Israeli president denied the communication between Yitzchak Herzog and Trump.
- Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
- Netanyahu asked for a pardon so he could effectively run the government’s affairs.
- Trump has written to the Israeli president to pardon the prime minister.
“He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How can you not pardon him?” Trump told reporters before meeting Netanyahu at his Florida mansion. “I spoke to the president…he tells me it’s on the way.”
Asked about Trump’s statement, the Israeli president’s office said Herzog had not spoken to the US president since he received a request to pardon Netanyahu a few weeks ago. She specified that Herzog spoke with Trump’s representative at the time and was explained that the decision would be made in accordance with established procedures.
Netanyahu is the first serving prime minister of Israel to be indicted for a crime. He denies allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust made in 2019. In his own request for clemency, which he submitted on November 30, he argues that the frequent court hearings are hampering his ability to govern and that a pardon would be in the national interest.
Netanyahu made the request after the beginning of the cease-fire brokered by the United States in the Gaza Strip. The six-time Israeli prime minister drew sharp criticism from his opponents, who said his pardon in the middle of the trial would be an unprecedented violation of the legal order.
Trump is a close ally of Netanyahu and wrote a letter to the Israeli president in November in which he called for a pardon and called the trial of the prime minister a “politically unjustified prosecution”.
