Israeli President Isaac Herzog will not rule on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pardon request anytime soon and will instead try to open mediation toward a plea deal in the prime minister's nearly six-year corruption case, two senior Israeli officials told The New York Times.
The president's office said Herzog views an "amicable solution between the parties" as a public interest and will act on the pardon question in line with Israeli law and "the best interests of the state of Israel."
Herzog, whose presidency is largely ceremonial but carries pardon authority, sees his role as fostering unity and views mediation as the only path likely to narrow the rifts around the trial, the officials said.
Under the framework he is weighing, informal talks would proceed under presidential auspices, with the state prosecution and the attorney general on one side and Netanyahu's lawyer on the other. A prior effort collapsed in late 2021 and early 2022.
The legal posture is unsettled.
The Justice Ministry's Pardons Department, in an opinion issued last month, said there was no legal basis for a pardon unless Netanyahu admitted guilt, resigned, or was convicted, while noting that nonlegal questions, such as national security, fell outside its responsibility.
Herzog is also reviewing a competing opinion submitted on behalf of the government by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, arguing the president can weigh broader, historical considerations.
His office awaits a recommendation from its legal counsel.
Netanyahu, 76, filed the formal preemptive request in November, while the trial was underway, arguing that ending the case would heal national divisions and allow him to focus on state affairs.
He has not signaled he will admit wrongdoing or step away from politics, the conditions Israeli legal experts and opposition figures call the minimum for any plea deal.
The trial, which opened May 24, 2020, covers three interlocking cases alleging bribery, fraud, and breach of trust tied to gifts from tycoons and regulatory favors traded for favorable coverage.
Netanyahu denies the charges and calls the case a "witch hunt." Bribery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years; fraud and breach of trust each carry a maximum penalty of 3 years.
Pressure has come mainly from Washington. President Donald Trump, addressing the Knesset in October, turned to Herzog and said, "Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon?"
He followed in November with a letter pressing the same demand and has since called Herzog "disgraceful" and a "weak and pathetic guy."
Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, told the Times that "Netanyahu knows the option of a plea bargain is always available to him," and that an "admission of guilt, expressing remorse and agreeing to leave or not to run for office would be the essence of any plea bargain."
National elections are due within six months.
Assessments in Herzog's circle are that he has the authority to pardon Netanyahu, but any such ruling would be subject to review by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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