President Isaac Herzog addressed the issue of a potential pardon or plea bargain for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Wednesday) at the “President’s Conference for a Shared Future.” During the interview, Herzog defined the issue as the “elephant in the room” and clarified that his role as President is to push for understandings and arrangements that would prevent further rifts within the nation, sending a clear message to the parties involved in the negotiations.
During a discussion on the future of Israeli society, the President was asked about his involvement in attempts to facilitate a settlement regarding the Prime Minister’s trial. “It is important for me to say why I am demanding negotiations for a settlement,” the President began. “I truly believe that regarding these weighty issues, which sear the heart of Israeli society and divide it, the right path—as much as possible—is to reach understandings and arrangements. I believe in understandings and arrangements.”
The President acknowledged the immense difficulty for both sides—the Prosecution on one hand and Netanyahu’s defense team on the other—to find common ground, but emphasized that the first step has already been taken: “In this case, it is difficult for everyone; it is certainly difficult for the parties involved. But once one side has said they are willing to enter the room, I expect the other side to enter the room as well.”
President Herzog’s remarks today did not occur in a vacuum. They come after weeks of heavy international pressure and an ultimatum from the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump dropped a diplomatic bombshell by making it clear to President Herzog that he would neither meet with him nor cooperate with his initiatives as long as an official pardon request is not submitted or a settlement is not advanced to close Netanyahu’s cases.
Trump stated, “It is a disgrace that a Prime Minister of a country at war has to waste his time in court,” and demanded that Herzog use his authority to stop what he calls “political persecution.”
In response to previous pressures for a settlement, the State Attorney’s Office announced several weeks ago that it is prepared, in principle, to “enter the room” and examine a plea bargain. However, the Prosecution set a rigid threshold: negotiations must be conducted without preconditions. This means the Prosecution refuses to commit in advance to waiving the “moral turpitude” clause—a fact that prevents Netanyahu’s circle from entering negotiations.
On the Prime Minister’s side, they refuse to fall into the Prosecution’s “blank slate” trap. Their central demand is a safety net ensuring that any plea bargain will not include moral turpitude and will not force Netanyahu to retire from political life. From their perspective, entering the room without preconditions is a gamble on Netanyahu’s political future during a time of war.