TELAVIV, Nov 12 : Israeli President Isaac Herzog has received a letter from US President Donald Trump urging him to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog’s office said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu, who has been facing a long-running corruption trial, denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty. Trump has repeatedly called for a pardon for his close ally.
“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,” Trump said in a letter
“While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution,” Trump said in the letter shared by Herzog’s office.
Trump highlighted that he, along with Netanyahu “just secured peace that has been sought for at least 3,000 years” and Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted.
“Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done. Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all,” the letter said.
During Trump’s visit to Israel in October, he also urged Herzog to pardon Netanyahu in an address to the Knesset.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases, including allegations that he received nearly 700,000 shekels ($211,832) in gifts from businessmen.
(UNI)
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