Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in his pardon request sent to President Isaac Herzog that "in recent years, tensions and disagreements between different parts of the nation and between various state authorities have intensified. I am aware that the proceedings in my case have become a focal point for fierce confrontations and I bear broad public and moral responsibility, understanding the implications of all events. Therefore, despite my personal interest in conducting the trial and proving my innocence until full acquittal, I believe the public interest dictates otherwise. Out of public responsibility as Prime Minister to try to bring reconciliation between parts of the nation, I have no doubt that ending the trial will help lower the intensity of the flames in the debate that has formed around it."