President Isaac Herzog received on Wednesday morning a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump urging him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog said, “Anyone who wishes to receive a pardon should submit an application in accordance with the rules.”
“The president of Israel greatly respects President Trump and continues to express appreciation for his unwavering support of Israel and his immense contribution to the return of the hostages, the transformation of the Middle East and Gaza, and the safeguarding of Israel’s security,” the President’s Office said in a statement.
In the letter, written on official White House stationery, Trump praised Netanyahu as “a formidable and decisive wartime prime minister” and called on Herzog “to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu,” saying the Israeli leader “is now leading Israel into a time of peace.”
Trump wrote that “Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted.”
While emphasizing that he respects “the independence of the Israeli justice system,” Trump described the criminal proceedings against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution,” adding that Netanyahu “has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran.”
Addressing Herzog personally, Trump added: “Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done.”
He concluded: “Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all.”