Trump calls on the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu

kd November 12, 2025

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, sent a letter to the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, on Wednesday (11/12), asking him to pardon the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. In an excerpt from the letter, the Republican highlights that now that the country has come to terms with the end of the war in Gaza, the Israeli president will consider the end of the “judicial war.”

“As the great State of Israel and the wonderful Jewish people overcome extremely difficult times these past three years, I hereby ask you to grant a full pardon to Benjamin Netanyahu, who was a formidable and decisive wartime Prime Minister, and who is now leading Israel toward a period of peace — which includes my continued work with key leaders in the Middle East to add many more countries to the world-changing Abraham Accords,” Trump’s letter said.

Elsewhere, the US President adds the following sentence: “Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes and kept Hamas under control, it is time to allow Bibi to unite Israel, grant it amnesty and end this judicial war once and for all.”

In June this year, Trump also tried to intercede for his ally, demanding that the trial in which Netanyahu be accused of corruption be cancelled. On that occasion, he also proposed to pardon the Prime Minister, but the best he could do was to postpone the case before the court.

Accusation of corruption

In 2019, Israeli courts indicted the Prime Minister for illegally receiving gifts from businessmen. At that time, the value of the gifts amounted to more than one million Brazilian reais. In total, Netanyahu has at least three cases in Israeli court.

Authorities allege he received $75,800 worth of cigars and $52,300 worth of champagne. The accusation also includes members of the Prime Minister’s family, including his wife, who also allegedly received jewellery. The gifts were supposed to be received between 2011 and 2016, according to the court.