Analyst warns of risks if Netanyahu is pardoned

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the country's President Isaac Herzog on Sunday (November 30) for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, arguing that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and a pardon would be good for Israel.

AI Brief

Netanyahu denies bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges and requests a presidential pardon.
Legal experts warn a pardon could undermine judicial independence and democratic stability.
US pressure and election-year timing raise concerns about political influence on rule of law.

Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, denies the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. His lawyers said in a letter to the president's office that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings would result in a complete acquittal.

"My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step," Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his political party, the Likud.

There is no precedent in a presidential pardon of a prime minister still in office, which will set a problematic chain of events in motion, leading to the Israeli presidential institute that is usually above the law, to actively influence Israeli politics by granting a pardon in an election year and and blur the line between the presidency and politics, said legal analyst Dr. Ronit Levine-Schnur.

Levine-Schnur added that if the pardon is granted, "you could no longer say that we have an independent judiciary … that would mean long-term consequences for the democratic stability of the State of Israel."

A pardon received during an election year, would allow Netanyahu to continue his political career and will grant him a "huge political victory," she said.

As for the outside pressure to pardon Netanyahu, including from U.S. President Donald Trump who urged Herzog to pardon Netanyahu during his visit to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, she said, “President Herzog should not provide gestures to our friends when it comes to the rule of law and the independence of our institutions.”