Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog, in what the President’s Office described as an extraordinary move with significant implications.
Netanyahu’s attorney, Amit Hadad, delivered the request to the Legal Department of the President’s Office. Under standard procedure, it has now been transferred to the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department, which will gather professional opinions from all relevant authorities.
Those assessments will then be forwarded to the President’s Legal Advisor and her team, who will prepare an additional recommendation for Herzog before he makes a final decision.
The pardon request was not only submitted by letter - it was done through the official channels. Sources told The Jerusalem Post that the estimate is that it will take weeks - even up to two months to fully examine the request along with its supplementary materials.
In its statement, the President’s Office emphasized the unusual nature of the submission, saying it “carries significant implications.” Officials stressed that Herzog will consider the request “responsibly and sincerely” once all legal materials are before him.
The application includes two documents: a detailed letter from Hadad and a personal letter signed by Netanyahu. Both have been released to the public in Hebrew.
Shortly after the submission, Netanyahu released a video message explaining his decision, framing it as necessary to prevent further societal division and to allow the country to focus on national priorities.
“Almost a decade has passed since the investigations began,” he said. “The trial has gone on for nearly six years, and it is expected to continue for many more.” According to him, testimony and evidence presented so far “crash the case entirely” and reveal that the evidentiary basis was formed “through severe wrongdoing.”
Netanyahu said that despite believing he would ultimately be acquitted, the current security and diplomatic environment compelled him to act differently. “Israel faces enormous challenges and enormous opportunities,” he said. “National unity is required to meet them. The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, deepens divisions, and amplifies rifts.”
A key turning point, he said, was the court’s recent decision to require him to testify three times a week - an adjustment introduced after changes to the judicial panel.
“Three times a week,” he repeated. “This is an impossible demand that is not required of any other citizen in Israel,” he asserted, further arguing that such a schedule made it impossible for him to carry out his duties as prime minister.
Trump, Likud ministers send Herzog letters requesting a pardon for Netanyahu
He also referenced US President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to Herzog to end the trial. “President Trump called for an immediate end to the proceedings so that together we could advance vital shared interests between Israel and the United States during a window that may not return,” Netanyahu said.
Trump sent a letter earlier this month to Herzog urging him to pardon Netanyahu, calling the corruption trial “political” and “unjustified.”
Trump has repeatedly pushed for intervention on Netanyahu’s behalf, arguing that the trial distracts from national leadership. His involvement has drawn criticism in Israel from those who warn against foreign interference in the country’s judicial process.
Domestically, Netanyahu also received support from within Likud. A letter signed by Likud ministers and deputy ministers was submitted to Herzog last month, urging him to act in a way that would “restore unity among the people.”
The themes in Netanyahu’s statement echoed those expressed both by Trump and by the ministers. While the Likud letter does not explicitly demand a pardon, it underscores the president’s constitutional authority and encourages Herzog to consider “the broader national circumstances” as he reviews the request.
But Netanyahu’s formal request goes far beyond themes of unity, urgency and geopolitics. The document, spanning more than a dozen pages, frames the pardon as a constitutional remedy required to prevent further national harm, and dedicates entire sections to arguing that the criminal proceedings themselves have weakened public trust, strained relations between state institutions, and undermined Israel’s ability to navigate an exceptionally volatile regional moment.