Israeli President confirms recommendation for netanyahu to reach plea deal
Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Monday that he recommended attempting to reach a plea bargain with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the corruption charges on which he is being tried.
“Netanyahu’s cases are a heavy burden on the regime,” Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio.
He added that it’s exhausting and burdensome to the system, and I have already recommended trying to reach a plea bargain between the prosecution and Netanyahu.
“If I am asked to grant him a pardon, I’ll think about it, involve the public, and take into account the interests of society and the state,” Herzog said.
“I tried to encourage the prosecution and the defense to sit down and talk,” he continued.
In recent months, Israeli media reports, citing unnamed sources, have suggested that Herzog is pushing for a plea deal with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is on trial on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which could result in prison if convicted, but he denies the charges.
Among the few powers the Israeli president has is the ability to grant a pardon, subject to conditions including that the convict requests it.
In addition to his domestic trial, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In another interview with the state broadcaster on Monday, Herzog reiterated his acknowledgement of his previous attempts to encourage a legal settlement through a plea bargain, but said the efforts were fruitless.
On the other hand, he expressed his strong support for the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the war on Gaza and return Israeli prisoners from the Strip.
In a statement to the Israel Broadcasting Authority, Herzog described the upcoming meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House on Monday as “pivotal and historic”.
He added, “The US plan aims to end Hamas’s control over the Gaza Strip, and its serious, revolutionary, and important”.
Herzog considered it laying the foundation for the day after the war (the future of Gaza), in line with Israeli goals: freeing the kidnapped soldiers and changing the security and political equation in the Strip.
