NYT: President Isaac Herzog of Israel has decided not to issue a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption case

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, left, with President Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem
Photo: NYT

For months, President Isaac Herzog of Israel has deliberated over the politically fraught question of whether to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon in his long-running corruption trial. It’s a highly contentious issue that has divided Israelis and drawn pressure from President Trump, who has aggressively intervened on Mr. Netanyahu’s behalf.

But Mr. Herzog does not plan to give Mr. Netanyahu a pardon anytime soon. Instead he will first try to initiate a mediation process to reach a plea deal, according to two senior Israeli officials with direct knowledge of Mr. Herzog’s thinking, ‘The New York Times’ notes.

Mr. Netanyahu, 76, a conservative, has been on trial for almost six years. Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, he is battling three separate but interlocking cases centered on accusations that he arranged favors for tycoons in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage of him and his family.

He denies all wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a political witch hunt by a liberal “deep state,” finding a kindred spirit in Mr. Trump in that regard. The American president has pressed Mr. Herzog hard for a pardon and called him “disgraceful” and a “weak and pathetic guy” for not already granting one.

Israel is deeply divided over the issue. Polls indicate that about half of all Israelis oppose a pardon. Opinions are split roughly along political lines, with conservatives more sympathetic to the prime minister.

Mr. Herzog is acutely aware that the atmosphere in the country is tense, the officials said, because of the wars in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, and with national elections slated to take place within six months.

Though the president’s role in Israel is largely ceremonial, one of the few powers Mr. Herzog has is granting pardons. A decision either way would be momentous and defining for both his and Mr. Netanyahu’s legacies and for the country’s future trajectory.

A plea agreement usually involves an admission of wrongdoing by the defendant and some kind of sanction. Israeli legal experts have said that any plea deal should be conditioned on Mr. Netanyahu’s agreeing to resign from public office.

Mr. Netanyahu has so far shown no inclination to admit any wrongdoing or to quit political life.

“Netanyahu knows the option of a plea bargain is always available to him,” said Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent research group based in Jerusalem. “An admission of guilt, expressing remorse and agreeing to leave — or not to run for — office would be the essence of any plea bargain,” he said, adding, “If you are giving up on a prison sentence, that’s the minimum that should be required.”

Still, the officials said, Mr. Herzog believes that with good will, the legal landscape leaves room for creativity and innovation and that mediation would be the only way to heal the rifts threatening to tear Israel apart.

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