Khaberni - A day after the American President, Donald Trump, made humiliating remarks about him, Israeli President Isaac Herzog understood the extent to which his dignity was compromised, and what he represents as a head of state.
Close associates of Herzog published statements where he attacks the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of instigating the American President against him, intensifying the attack until issuing a pardon and ending Netanyahu’s trial in corruption cases.
Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz was quoted as saying, «Suspicions about Netanyahu's actions arose as soon as he decided to travel to Washington without the military leaders».
He continued: «It was planned that he would take with him the Air Force Commander, Brigadier General Omer Tishler, and another member of the General Staff, but he backed out, and I said then that it was suspicious. Apparently, Netanyahu went to Trump not to urge him to attack Iran, but to attack the Israeli President. And this is truly dangerous».
Herzog, according to leaks published by all Hebrew media, said that he was «shocked by Trump's tone and the harshness of his words against him».
Trump said that «the Israeli people should be ashamed to have a president like Herzog, who refuses to pardon Netanyahu, the best prime minister in Israel's history».
Herzog was quoted as requesting Netanyahu to clarify what he said and did for Trump to make his statements in this manner, and he wondered: «What was the compensation that Netanyahu received from this pressure?». He considered that there is «a difference between criticism and insult.
Trump's statements affect the sovereignty of Israel as an independent state, and there is no doubt that someone incited him to make them, and Netanyahu must clarify exactly what he did there in the White House until the President uttered these harsh words.»
Netanyahu immediately issued a statement disassociating himself from the story, saying he was as surprised as Herzog by this statement, but he did not deny that he spoke with Trump on the topic.
Sources close to Herzog mentioned that «since Trump first issued polite statements in November (November) last year, calling on Herzog from the Knesset podium to pardon Netanyahu, he has been receiving daily messages on the matter. But in recent days he is receiving a flood of messages from the United States urging him to grant the pardon.»
According to the «Yedioth Ahronoth» newspaper, an American delegation arrived in Jerusalem to discuss the matter with Herzog.
Several analysts in the recent Israeli newspapers have spoken about the greatest interest in Netanyahu’s visit to the White House being the issue of the pardon.
President Trump wants Netanyahu to remain in power in Israel, knowing that the man is involved in corruption cases, and the judgment in these cases would not be in his favor.
Therefore, he decided to escalate his tone against Herzog. What was said in their summit meeting about the Iranian issue was superficial, and although it had a result, it was contrary to the intended purpose. The known disagreements between the two countries remained as they were.
Military analyst from «Israel Hayom» newspaper, Yoav Limor, noted that Netanyahu's recent meeting with Trump aimed to gain political leverage domestically, more than anything else.
Limor discussed what Herzog called «the price that Netanyahu paid to Trump in exchange for his harsh statements against him», saying it was on the Gaza front.
He said: «Regarding the situation in Gaza, Israel faces three problems: the first is that everything happening now in Gaza is imposed on Israel, and it does not lead it itself. Trump boasts about the beautiful peace agreement he brought to Gaza and the Middle East and the world, seeing it as a cheese, great in appearance and good in taste. For Israel, however, there are fundamentally holes in this cheese.»
He added that «the second problem is that Netanyahu decides alone. The document of his joining the peace council formed by Trump is nothing short of stunning. In it, he affirms that his signature commits the state of Israel, without any approval from any body, not the cabinet, not the government, not the Knesset, and without any deliberations.»
Tel Aviv FM 103 radio hosts, Barak Sari and Eli Ohana, said that «Trump insulted the entire state of Israel to help Netanyahu stay in office. His actions in this regard are difficult to comprehend.»
It is noted that there is a firm belief in Israel that Herzog is very interested in issuing a pardon for Netanyahu, and it is said that he had made a deal with Likud to vote for him to become president in exchange for granting the pardon, but he wants to do so according to legal procedures.
Therefore, he requested the government's legal advisor to give her professional opinion on the matter.
In light of Trump's statements, which the legal advisor considered «humiliating for all of Israel», she announced on Sunday that she «has not yet reviewed Herzog's request, and that she is leaving the file until its turn comes».
