The Israeli Ministry of Justice’s Pardons Department announced on Wednesday that it had completed its opinion on the request submitted several months ago by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The pardon was issued after Israeli Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu, who is handling the matter on behalf of Netanyahu, sent a strongly worded letter on Tuesday to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, demanding that she stop delaying the pardon, which was completed long ago. “So far, you have consistently avoided holding a substantive hearing on the application,” he said.
After perusing the materials, Eliyahu wrote on Wednesday that “in stark contrast to the Attorney General’s briefings, according to which ‘this is not a request for pardon at all,’ the opinion of the professional bodies explicitly states that we are indeed dealing with a request for a pardon in accordance with the law.”
“I have begun a series of in-depth consultations with the relevant parties in order to formulate my final and reasoned position, before forwarding my recommendation to the president,” he said.
The Pardons Department said it drafted the opinion to the best of its ability, as it did not include Baharav-Miara’s input.
A hostile relationship has existed between Baharav-Miara and Netanyahu’s government, which unanimously voted to fire her on Aug. 4. The Supreme Court overturned that decision on Dec. 14.
The release of the Ministry’s opinion follows U.S. President Donald Trump once again weighing in on the matter on March 5.
“Herzog must give Bibi a pardon today,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “I don’t want there to be anything troubling Bibi other than the war with Iran.”
The prime minister faces corruption charges in three separate cases—Cases 1000 and 2000 (the charge is “breach of trust” in both instances), and Case 4000 (bribery, fraud and breach of trust).
Netanyahu submitted a formal request for a pardon to Herzog on Nov. 30, 2025, arguing that it would enable him “to devote all of his time, abilities and energies to advancing the State of Israel in these critical times, and to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Netanyahu’s request followed Trump’s public call to Herzog to grant a pardon during a speech to the Knesset on Oct. 13. Trump followed that up with a letter to Herzog a month later, on Nov. 12.
In his latest demand on Thursday, Trump didn’t mince words when expressing his view of Herzog. “I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He’s disgraceful for not giving it,” Trump said.
Trump claimed that Herzog “promised me five times that he would give Bibi a pardon.” The U.S. president added that he would refuse to meet the Israeli president until the pardon was granted.
It is the second time in recent weeks that Trump has publicly assailed Herzog. On Feb. 12, he said the Israeli president “should be ashamed of himself.” Trump added that Herzog had been holding the issue over Netanyahu “for a year” and urged him to stop using it as leverage.
Herzog’s office pushed back against Trump’s latest call, saying that the president is not currently dealing with the matter while Israel is at war with Iran.
“President Herzog greatly respects and appreciates the tremendous contribution of Donald Trump to Israel’s security,” Herzog’s office said in a statement. “He views him as the leader of the free world, a central ally of Israel, and particularly values his firm stance against Iran.”
But it added that Israel “is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law,” and that the request for a pardon is currently being handled by the Justice Ministry, which must provide its legal opinion as required by law.
“After the process is completed, the president will examine the request according to the law, the good of the country and according to his conscience, without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind,” Herzog’s office concluded.
