Donald Trump has ordered Israel to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid the Middle East peace process unravelling.
Describing the prosecution as “political” and “unjustified”, the US president said pardoning the veteran prime minister would allow Israel to unite.
Mr Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 for breach of trust, accepting bribes and fraud.
The prime minister’s reforms limiting the power of the judiciary are said to be motivated by his criminal charges.
The prosecution also revealed deep splits in Israeli society, provoking rolling protests in the months before the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
The current trial at the Tel Aviv District Court is progressing extremely slowly due to regular requests for absence by Mr Netanyahu’s team for their client to attend to official duties.
It is rare for foreign leaders to interfere in the internal criminal proceedings of other countries.
However, Mr Trump – a long-time ally of Mr Netanyahu – strongly identifies with political leaders who have faced prosecution, given his own legal challenges in the years between his administrations.
In a formal letter to president Isaac Herzog, Mr Trump writes:
“As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of thee last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East Leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords.”
He adds: “Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted.”
While stressing that he respected the independence of Israel’s judiciary, he described the charges as politically motivated.
On a visit to Israel in October to mark the ceasefire and return of the hostages, Mr Trump suggested, in a whimsical manner, to Mr Herzog that he should pardon the prime minister during a freewheeling address to the Senate.
He later told reporters that he had not planned to make the intervention but had changed his mind when he felt support in the chamber for Mr Netanyahu, describing the intervention as “a little risqué”.
There is a growing political movement against the charges on the Right of Israeli politics.
A new piece of legislation has been proposed that would enable ministers to halt the prosecution and make it harder for Mr Netanyahu’s leading opponents to stand in next year’s election.
Although Mr Herzog built his political career in the Labor Party, he is one of the few leading figures in Israeli politics with whom Mr Netanyahu has not publicly fought or conducted a lengthy feud.
As president, he is the one person capable of quashing a criminal conviction.
Opponents of Mr Netanyahu argue that, due to the pared-back schedule of the trial, it does not materially hinder his ability to govern.
Were he to be convicted, that would inevitably trigger a political crisis that could potentially slow diplomatic advances with Arab neighbors.
However, some analysts believe that some Arab leaders, such as those in Saudi Arabia and Syria, would prefer to wait for Mr Netanyahu to leave office before normalizing relations with Israel, due to his controversial handling of the war in Gaza.
According to a report by Reuters, talks are currently in “deadlock” over how to handle the issue of Hamas disarmament and a future peacekeeping force for the Strip.
Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and a key broker of the current peace, met with an anti-Hamas clan leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, during his recent trip to Israel, it has been reported.
Accused of being involved in organized crime, which he denies, Abu Shabab is one of a handful of clan bosses who have openly defied the terror group.
American officials are reportedly considering using their model of armed protection for families who want to move away from Hamas and methods of food distribution, as a model for humanitarian zones on the IDF side of the ceasefire line.
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