Israeli President Isaac Herzog has defended his deliberative approach to reviewing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request, issuing a statement Thursday that countered Donald Trump’s characterization of his handling as disgraceful.
Herzog’s office provided transparency regarding the review process, noting that the Ministry of Justice is currently conducting a thorough legal analysis of the pardon application in accordance with standard procedures. The presidential statement emphasized that Herzog will consider the request only after this legal review is complete and will make his determination strictly according to Israeli law, without regard to external political pressure.
Trump’s pointed criticism came during a White House press conference held while Netanyahu was visiting Washington for diplomatic meetings. The former American president suggested that Herzog deserved public condemnation from Israeli citizens and should be ashamed for not immediately approving the pardon. Trump’s intervention represented an unusual level of direct involvement in another sovereign nation’s legal processes.
The criminal cases facing Netanyahu involve serious allegations across three active prosecutions. Two cases center on claims that Netanyahu engineered deals with Israeli media companies, leveraging government regulatory decisions to secure favorable news coverage. The third case involves accusations that he accepted more than $260,000 in luxury items from billionaire associates, including expensive cigars, champagne, and jewelry, allegedly in return for political benefits.
Netanyahu’s trials represent a historic moment in Israeli politics, as he is the first incumbent prime minister to face criminal prosecution. Since the proceedings commenced in 2019, Netanyahu has consistently described them as a “political trial” orchestrated by his opponents to remove him from power. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout all proceedings, Netanyahu faces three ongoing cases after a fourth charge was previously dismissed. The pardon controversy began when Trump addressed the Israeli parliament in October and publicly called on Herzog to grant clemency, leading to the formal submission of a pardon request by Netanyahu’s legal team.