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israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu Has asked President Isaac Herzog to pardon him for eliminating him ongoing corruption case,
Netanyahu, 76, said “immediately ending the trial will help ease tensions and promote the comprehensive reconciliation that our country so desperately needs”.
Proceedings stalled amid Netanyahu’s controversial war GazaMany accused him of using the conflict as a means to delay the trial.
last month, President Donald Trump appealed to Herzog He pardoned his ally Netanyahu, calling the case a “political, unfair prosecution.”
Herzog’s office called the demand “an extraordinary request that has significant implications”.
Presidential pardons without prior conviction and admission of guilt are extremely rare, and have only been granted once before in Israel.
What are the allegations against Netanyahu?
In 2019, Netanyahu was convicted On charges of bribery, cheating and breach of trust in three cases namely Rs 1000, 2000 and 4000. He is the first Prime Minister to be convicted while in office and has called the case a “witch hunt”.
The leader is accused of receiving expensive gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer and Israeli Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan in exchange for political favors in Case 1000. Prosecutors have alleged that Netanyahu received $195,000 (£171,000) worth of cigars and champagne, as well as $3,100 (£2,300) worth of jewelery for his wife.
Netanyahu is said to have insisted on tax breaks for returning citizens, a request that would have benefited Milchan. The country’s Finance Ministry had denied this.
It is also reported that he asked former US Secretary of State John Kerry to help Milchan get a US visa.
The second case, 2000, focused on allegations that Netanyahu negotiated a deal with the major daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth For optimal coverage. In a meeting with Aron Mozes, a controlling shareholder of the company, he is accused of promising to limit the spread of a rival in return.
Case 4000, the most serious, focuses on allegations that the Prime Minister provided regulatory assistance israelLeading telecommunications company, Bezeq, in exchange for more positive coverage on Walla, a news website related to the firm’s owner. According to this, the stimulus amount is said to be $500 million (£377 million) reuters,
Netanyahu has denied all the claims.
Can he be forgiven?
A pardon issued without a trial or admission of guilt – otherwise known as a preemptive pardon – would set a historical precedent and would be considered highly controversial.
Clemency is usually offered in the years following a conviction, where new evidence or circumstances justify commuting the original sentence. It is not used as a way to avoid trial or punishment.
The only exception to this rule in Israel concerns the case of senior Shin Bet officials involved in the capture, execution, and concealment of two men accused of terrorism in 1986. The case has left a legacy of enduring controversy.
Earlier this month, the Israel Democracy Institute said: “As a rule, the President reviews pardon requests only after all legal proceedings have concluded. The possibility of a pre-convict pardon… is extremely rare.”
It continued: “Amnesty before conviction, while legal proceedings are ongoing, jeopardizes the rule of law and seriously undermines the principle of equality before the law.”
How long will he remain PM?
In November 2022, Netanyahu was re-elected for a fifth term as head of the right-wing Likud party. Israel is scheduled to hold elections in October 2026, and the prime minister has so far avoided calling for an earlier vote.
He is the fourth world leader to be issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, along with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive, which came in response to Hamas killing more than 1,200 people in Israel in October 7, 2023 attacks. A US-brokered ceasefire came into force in October this year, but Gaza’s political future is still under negotiation and there are frequent reports of violence.
Earlier this year the United Nations concluded after a two-year investigation that Israel committed genocide in the Strip, which the state denied and called “false” and “distorted.”