Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally asked for a pardon from President Isaac Herzog relating to corruption charges against him.

“In accordance with the guidelines and procedures, the request is currently being transferred to the Pardons Department in the Ministry of Justice which will gather the opinions of all the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Justice,” a statement from the president’s office said.

“Following this, their opinions will be transferred to the Legal Advisor in the Office of the President and her team to formulate an additional opinion for the President.”

Mr Netanyahu earlier this month insisted he would not be seeking a pardon after US President Donald Trump sent an official letter to Mr Herzog in support of one.

Mr Netanyahu has been on trial since 2020 after being indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust the previous year. He denies all charges against him.

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

It said the request consisted of two letters one signed by Mr Netanyahu and one by his lawyer Amit Hadad.

“Given the importance of this extraordinary request and its implications, the documents are being released for publication (in Hebrew).”

The documents did not contain any admission of guilt on the part of Mr Netanyahu, a requirement for a pardon to be given under Israeli law.

In the ‘national interest’

Mr Netanyahu released a video shortly after the announcement explaining he put in the request not for him but for the country, and believed he would be proven innocent if the trial is completed.

“As exonerating evidence that completely disproves the false claims against me is revealed in court, and as it becomes clear that the case against me was built through serious violations, my personal interest was and remains to continue this process to its end, until full acquittal on all counts,” he said.

“But the security and political reality, the national interest, demands otherwise. Israel faces enormous challenges, alongside tremendous opportunities. To counter these threats and seize these opportunities, national unity is essential.

“The ongoing trial tears us apart from within, fuels fierce disagreements, and deepens divisions. I am sure, like many others, that ending the trial immediately would help lower tensions and promote the broad reconciliation our country so desperately needs.”

He said the requirement to testify three times a week was “an impossible demand not required of any other Israeli citizen”.

He said he took Mr Trump’s appeals into consideration and did not want to miss the “time window that may not return” to work on shared interests with the US.

“I expect anyone who has the country’s best interests at heart to support this step.”

Request met with opposition

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called on the president not to accept the request without an admission of guilt.

“I call on President Herzog — you cannot pardon Netanyahu without an admission of guilt, expression of regret, and immediate retirement from political life,” he said.

Leader of the Democrats party, Yair Golan said “only the guilty asks for pardon”.

“‏The only exchange deal on the table is that Netanyahu will take responsibility, admit guilt, leave politics and free the people and the state — ‏Only in this way will unity be achieved among the people,” he posted on X.

The controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supported the request saying the trial had instead exposed the Attorney General’s Office bias.

“And although I believe that the Prime Minister deserves a full acquittal and a cleansing of corruption in the Attorney General’s Office, out of national responsibility, I support the pardon request,” he posted on X.

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