Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decided not to issue a pardon to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption case at this time, and instead will seek mediation, The New York Times reported, citing officials.
For months, Isaac Herzog has deliberated over the politically fraught question of whether to grant Netanyahu a pardon in his long-running corruption trial. It’s a highly contentious issue that has divided Israelis and drawn pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But Herzog does not plan to give Netanyahu a pardon anytime soon. Instead he will first try to initiate a mediation process to reach a plea deal.
Herzog, the officials said, believes that there are many options beyond the binary pardon-or-no-pardon choice, and that the main role of Israel’s president is to foster unity. So he does not plan to say yes or no to Netanyahu’s request for a pardon at this stage, the officials said, preferring to try to resolve the issue through negotiations.
Netanyahu, 76, has been on trial for almost six years. Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, he is battling three separate but interlocking cases centered on accusations that he arranged favors for tycoons in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage of him and his family.
