Israeli prime minister requests pardon on longstanding corruption case

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Israel's president to grant him a pardon during his long-running corruption trial that’s bitterly divided the country.

He claimed that an end to his five-year trial on bribery and fraud charges would be “in the public interest” arguing that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern.

"The State of Israel faces immense challenges alongside tremendous opportunities. To fend off the threats and to realise the opportunities, national unity is required,” he said in a televised address.

Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, facing three separate cases. He has denied all the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges against him.

The prime minister said that while it was in his personal interest to prove his innocence in court, it was in the interest of national unity to cut short the trial.

“The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts,” he said.

He also said the requirement that he appear in court three times a week is a distraction that makes it difficult for him to lead the country.

“I am sure, like many others in the nation, that its immediate conclusion would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs."

His controversial request comes weeks after United States President Donald Trump made the same request to Israeli President Isaac Hertzog.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the Gaza war to keep his coalition together so he can stay in office and keep his legal problems at bay.

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, on Sunday urged President Isaac Herzog not to pardon Netanyahu unless he immediately steps down from political life.

“You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate retirement from political life," Lapid said in a video statement.

The president's office has described Netanyahu’s request as "extraordinary" and with "significant implications".

Acknowledging receipt of the submission, Hertzog said it has been passed on to the justice ministry’s pardons department.

He said he would “responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving all relevant opinions.

Presidential pardons have almost never been granted in Israel before a conviction.