Israel’s president says he wants a deal reached in Netanyahu case before pardon decision

JERUSALEM, April 26 (Reuters) – Israel’s president said on Sunday that he will consider Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request in his long-running corruption trial only after efforts to reach a plea deal are exhausted, signalling no decision will come soon.

Netanyahu’s legal troubles, which began with investigations around a decade ago, have polarised Israelis and shaken national politics through five rounds of elections between 2019, the year of his indictment, to 2022. The next ballot is due by the end of October 2026.

Netanyahu denies the bribery, fraud ​and breach of ​trust charges.

President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday that a deal would be the best solution in Netanyahu’s case.

“The President therefore believes that before addressing the pardon request itself, efforts should first be exhausted to reach an agreement between the parties, outside the courtroom,” Herzog said in a statement.

Herzog’s office published it after a report by the New York Times said on Sunday that the president was planning to initiate mediation for a plea bargain, putting off any pardon decision for now.

A spokesperson for Herzog declined to comment beyond the statement when asked whether any plea deal bid was underway. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Netanyahu submitted a pardon request in November. Under ⁠Israeli ​law, the president has the authority to pardon ​convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Herzog to grant Netanyahu a pardon several times, including in March, during the Iran war, when the trial was put on hold.

Netanyahu is due to return to court this week as the trial, which began in 2020, resumes. He is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)