'Only the guilty seek pardons': Political firestorm over Netanyahu’s request

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, igniting a political firestorm across Israel’s political landscape.

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid called on President Herzog to reject the request outright.

“You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and his immediate departure from political life,” Lapid said.

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party and a retired major general, condemned the move as an implicit admission of guilt.

“Only the guilty seek a pardon. After eight years of legal proceedings, cases that have not collapsed, Netanyahu is now asking for clemency,” Golan said. 

“The only acceptable arrangement is for Netanyahu to take responsibility, admit guilt, leave politics, and release the nation from this crisis. Only then can unity be restored.”

National Unity Party chairman Benny Gantz accused Netanyahu of using the request to distract the public from the controversial draft-exemption bill.

“He’s acting like an arsonist who starts a fire and then demands protection money to put it out,” Gantz said. “Instead of inflaming tensions, put out the fire you started. Stop harming democracy, call elections, and only then pursue a plea deal or a pardon.”

MK Gilad Kariv also denounced the request.

“After eight years of claiming the cases were collapsing and that there was ‘nothing because there is nothing,’ he is now seeking a pardon,” Kariv wrote. “He refuses to take responsibility or admit guilt. The top national priority is ending Netanyahu’s rule, which has brought repeated disasters and deepened the decay of Israel’s political culture.”

Coalition members, however, lined up firmly behind Netanyahu.

Defense Minister Israel Katz voiced full support:

“I call on the President to approve the pardon and end legal proceedings that were born in sin and have severely divided the nation. A pardon is the only way to heal the rift that has plagued Israeli society for a decade.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said granting a pardon was essential for state security.

“The judicial system, and especially a corrupt State Attorney’s Office that fabricated cases, must be reformed. A pardon and reform go hand in hand.”

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar added:

“The time has come to free Israel from the saga of Netanyahu’s trial, which is tearing the nation apart.”

Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz praised Netanyahu’s decision as “an enormous act of leadership,” claiming the trial is collapsing and was politically motivated from the start.

“For the sake of national healing, he has chosen this path,” Katz said.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat likewise urged President Herzog to end the trial.

“After a difficult war, Israel must embark on a path of unity. This is the moment to pardon the Prime Minister.”

At the same time, Likud MK Tali Gottlieb criticized Netanyahu from the right—lamenting that he requested a pardon at all.

“Why cast yourself in a negative light when you did nothing wrong?” she said. “Your trial has exposed unprecedented persecution. It is shameful to submit this request.”

Calls to Reject the Pardon

The Movement for Quality Government demanded that President Herzog refuse the request immediately.

“A pardon in the middle of a legal proceeding is a mortal blow to the rule of law and equality before the law,” the organization warned. “Granting clemency to a sitting prime minister accused of serious fraud and breach of trust sends a message that some citizens are above the law.”

Pro-democracy protest leaders, Shikma Bressler, Moshe Radman, Yaya Fink, and Ami Dror issued a harsh statement:

“The thief’s hat is on fire. The defendant is begging for a pardon. History will judge Herzog for this moment. Anything less than rejecting the request will make the President complicit in Israel’s destruction.”

The protest movements announced an emergency demonstration Sunday evening outside the President’s Residence in Tel Aviv.