Trump says Netanyahu pardon is "under way"

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had told him a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “on its way,” an assertion Herzog’s ⁠office was quick to challenge.



Asked about the U.S. president's remarks, Herzog's office said the Israeli president had not had any conversations with Trump since a pardon request was ⁠submitted several weeks ago.



Herzog's office said Herzog had spoken to a representative for Trump then and it was explained that any decision would be made in accordance with established procedures.



Netanyahu, Israel's first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime, denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment.



His own request for a pardon, submitted on November 30, argued that frequent court hearings impair his ability to govern and that clemency serves the national interest.



The appeal was lodged following the start of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, as his government sought to bring ⁠an end to Hamas' rule under Trump's plan to end two years of war and expand diplomatic ties across the region.