""He's a wartime prime minister who's a hero. How do you not give a pardon?" Trump told reporters while standing beside Netanyahu before a meeting in Florida. "I spoke to the president...he tells me it's on its way." Asked about the US president's remarks, Herzog's office said the Israeli president had not had any conversations with Trump since a pardon request was submitted several weeks ago. Herzog's office said Herzog had spoken to a representative for Trump then and it was explained that any decision would be made in accordance with established procedures."
"Netanyahu, Israel's first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime, denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment. His own request for a pardon, submitted on November 30, argued that frequent court hearings impair his ability to govern and that clemency serves the national interest. The appeal was lodged following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, as his government sought to bring an end to Hamas' rule under Trump's plan to end two years of war and expand diplomatic ties across the region."
Trump publicly urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant clemency to Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Netanyahu a wartime hero and saying a pardon was on its way. Herzog's office said the president had not spoken with Trump since the pardon request was submitted and that a representative had indicated decisions would follow established procedures. Netanyahu denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust from a 2019 indictment and argued his November 30 pardon request was needed because frequent court hearings impair his ability to govern and that clemency serves the national interest. Opponents warned a mid-trial pardon would breach the rule of law.
Read at Irish Independent
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