Pardon Netanyahu only if he leaves office: Israeli leaders
Prominent Israeli leaders have asserted that Benjamin Netanyahu should be granted pardon only if he retires as Prime Minister and from public life.
Tel Aviv: Prominent Israeli leaders have asserted that Benjamin Netanyahu should be granted pardon only if he retires as Prime Minister and from public life.
Talking to Israeli daily Haaretz, Member of Knesset and Chairman of right-wing party Yisrael Beitenu Avigdor Lieberman said that, if President Herzog granted Netanyhu a pardon, it would have to be followed by "complete retirement from public life."
"Even in the pardon arrangement for (the Shin Bet officers involved in the) "Line 300" case, those involved were prohibited from holding public office. According to all precedents in the State of Israel, I do not think there is an option for a pardon without retirement”, he added.
Yisrael Beitenu was responding to Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to Israeli President Herzog seeking pardon in multiple cases of graft and corruption against him and his wife.
In a letter addressed to President Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu wrote that his trial has become “a focal point of fierce controversy” for which he bears “broad public and more responsibility, with an understanding of the overall ramifications of these events.”
“Guilty seeks Pardon”
The Israeli opposition leaders were quick to criticize the pardon request from Netanyahu who has faced accusations of stoking rifts within Israeli society – against the Arab population and the left in particular – as well as prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political gain.
Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s opposition, urged Herzog to reject the pardon request, at least in its current form. “You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life,” Lapid said in a video statement, CNN reported.
Attorney Micha Fettman – who previously represented Benjamin Netanyahu in his trial, also said Herzog cannot legally grant Netanyahu a pardon unless the prime minister admits guilt in his corruption cases.
“A pardon is given to an offender – that’s what the law stipulates,” Fettman told in an interview with Channel 12.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also said he would support Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon if it is conditioned on the premier’s retirement from politics.
“In recent years, the State of Israel has been led into chaos and to the brink of a civil war that threatens the very existence of the state,” Bennett writes on X.
“Will Weigh Only Country's 'Best Interests'”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the other hand said he will decide on Benjamin’s pardon request keeping in mind only the best interest of Israel and its people.
“I understand very well that it is deeply unsettling for many people across the country and different communities, and that it sparks debate. But I have already made clear that it will be handled in the most proper and precise way. I will consider only the good of the state and Israeli society, keeping solely the interests of the State of Israel in mind”, Herzog said as quoted by Haaretz.
"One thing is clear to me: violent rhetoric does not influence me, on the contrary, respectful discourse provokes discussion and stimulates dialogue, and I invite the Israeli public to come to the president's house, the people's house, to express their opinion and respond accordingly”, he said as hundreds protested against Netanyahu's request for pardon at President's residence in Tel Aviv Monday.
"Bibi is a criminal in many aspects!", the protesters said.
Netanyahu in his pardon request also referred Donald Trump’s public call seeking pardon for the Israeli premier billed as the most corrupt in office so far.
While asking the Israeli President to pardon Netanyahu, Trump also praised the former saying ‘no Israeli leader has done for Israel what Netanyahu has done.”
But, the Israeli opposition leaders are of the view that Netanyahu prolonged the Gaza war and genocide of Palestinians in the besieged strip only to save his position in the PM office.
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