AhlulBayt News Agency: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly asked US President Donald Trump for “more” assistance in securing a pardon from Israel’s president over corruption charges against him and his family.
The Virginia-based news outlet Axios cited two unnamed US officials and one Israeli official, saying Netanyahu made the request during a lengthy phone call with Trump on Monday, in which they discussed his ongoing corruption trials as well as Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Syria.
“Trump told Netanyahu he thinks the pardon will work out but didn’t commit to further steps,” Axios reported, quoting a US official.
“Netanyahu wants Trump to do more, but the president has already done all he can,” another US official added.
During the call, Trump allegedly told Netanyahu he should be “a better partner” in dealing with Syria under Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, a former al-Qaeda and Daesh commander.
Trump also advised Netanyahu to “take it easy” in Syria after Israeli strikes killed 13 people in the village of Beit Jinn earlier this month.
One US official said, “The president told Netanyahu that Syria’s new leadership is trying to make it a better place.”
Last month, Trump sent an official letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog urging him to issue a pardon for Netanyahu.
On Sunday, Netanyahu’s lawyer submitted a formal letter and 111 pages of documents to Herzog requesting the pardon.
Netanyahu claims he needs the pardon to continue leading Israel’s wars in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. Herzog has said he is reviewing the request, but a decision could take up to two months.
Opposition politicians in Israel argue that any pardon should require Netanyahu to retire from politics and admit guilt, while others insist he must call elections, scheduled for October 2026, before seeking a pardon.
On Wednesday, about 400 retired Israeli police officers, including former commissioners and deputy commissioners, urged Herzog to reject Netanyahu’s request, stressing that it contains “not even a hint of admission of guilt,” making it unacceptable.
A new survey conducted by Israeli media shows that most settlers oppose granting Netanyahu a presidential pardon without an admission of guilt or remorse.
The poll, carried out for Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, found that 53.2% oppose the pardon under such conditions, while 42.4% support it.
The survey was conducted on December 3–4 with 500 Jewish and Arab respondents and had a margin of error of 4.4%.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust after extensive investigations.
His trial began in 2020, making him the first sitting Israeli prime minister to testify as a criminal defendant in the regime’s history. He faces three separate corruption cases.
Additionally, Netanyahu faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for him and former war minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 over atrocities in Gaza, where more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023.
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