"In the interest of the state": Netanyahu submitted a clemency petition to President Herzog

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted a formal request for clemency to President Yitzhak Herzog in his protracted corruption trial, the Times of Israel reported.

Netanyahu issued a video statement in which he called the immediate conclusion of the process a matter of "national interest."

According to the prime minister, the investigation against him has been going on for nearly a decade, while the trial itself has been going on for about six years and is likely to drag on for years more. Netanyahu claims there were "serious irregularities" in building the case against him, but insists that he has a personal interest in seeing the process through to the end and achieving a full acquittal.

Nevertheless, in his address he states that the current security situation and foreign policy challenges require different solutions. Israel, he said, is simultaneously facing serious threats and new diplomatic opportunities, and to realise them requires maximum political unity. The continuation of the trial, the prime minister believes, "tears society from within, intensifies the divisions and deepens the cracks" in Israeli politics. He is confident that an immediate dismissal of the case "will significantly reduce the heat of passions and help achieve broad public reconciliation."

Netanyahu also noted that one of the practical reasons for the petition was the court's requirement that he testify three times a week, which he believes prevents him from fully fulfilling his duties as head of government.

Separately, he also mentioned a letter former US President Donald Trump sent to Itzhak Herzog. In it, Trump called for an end to the process so that Netanyahu could work with him to more actively promote the "vital common interests of Israel and the US" in a limited "unique time window."

Letter to Herzog: no admission of guilt, but emphasis on "ethical responsibility"

In the one-page letter to the Israeli president that accompanied the clemency petition, Netanyahu does not admit any guilt or apologise. Instead, he speaks of a "broad public and ethical responsibility" for the consequences his years-long trial has caused.

He writes that tensions and disputes between different groups in society, as well as between branches of government, have only intensified in recent years, and that his trial has become one of the main nerve centres of these conflicts. The prime minister admits that he "realises the consequences of all these events" and his responsibility for them.

He emphasises that he has a personal interest in proving his innocence in court, but believes that "the public interest dictates otherwise". Netanyahu says his responsibility as head of government is to promote reconciliation, reduce political confrontation and restore trust in state institutions. Against a backdrop of "serious security challenges and diplomatic opportunities," he says he is ready to "do everything possible" to smooth out divisions and strengthen unity.

There is no hint in the letter of a possible deal in which the pardon would be linked to Netanyahu's retirement from politics or his relinquishing the premiership. The document is dated 27 November, but the presidential office said a formal request for a pardon was only received today. President Herzog had previously said he would "sincerely consider" the appeal, but no final decision has yet been announced.