President Isaac Herzog's office stated, following a New York Times report that he does not intend to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at this stage, that 'contacts are an essential part.' The statement added: 'As he has expressed in the past, the President sees reaching a settlement between the parties in Prime Minister Netanyahu's cases as a proper and correct solution. Contacts for a settlement are an essential part of an attempt to bring the parties to agreements. Therefore, it is correct first, before discussing the pardon request itself, to exhaust a process that could lead to formulating a settlement between the parties, outside the courthouse walls.'