US President Donald Trump has formally asked Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing the corruption charges against him as “political” and “unjustified.”
The letter, sent Wednesday, comes a month after the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire took effect, halting daily Israeli strikes and easing aid restrictions amid a fragile truce. Trump framed Netanyahu’s leadership during the conflict—responsible for more than 69,000 Palestinian deaths, including at least 20,000 children, which UN investigators have labeled a genocide—as decisive and wartime-critical.
“I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world-changing Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote. Several Israeli media outlets published the letter Wednesday.
By intervening in domestic Israeli affairs, Trump appears to be rewarding Netanyahu for agreeing to the ceasefire. The move also reflects his ongoing support for right-wing leaders globally, as seen earlier this year when the US backed Argentina’s economy under President Javier Milei with $40 billion.
In the letter, Trump repeated the claim—factually inaccurate—that his efforts secured peace in the region for “at least 3,000 years,” despite Israel being established in 1948 and the Zionist movement originating in the late 1800s.
This is not Trump’s first public call to end the legal proceedings against Netanyahu; he raised a similar plea last month while addressing the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. However, the letter directly appeals to President Herzog.
“Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honoured by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centred on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done,” Trump wrote. “Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all.”
While largely ceremonial, the Israeli presidency retains the authority to grant pardons, placing Herzog in a position to act on Trump’s appeal.
