Khaberni - American President Donald Trump demanded his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog to grant an immediate pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing Herzog's hesitation to make a decision as a disgrace and threatening to "expose him".
In a phone interview with Israel's Channel 12 on Thursday, Trump stated that Herzog promised him five times that he would grant a pardon to Netanyahu, but he has not kept his promise.
Trump added - according to what the channel relayed on its website - "I do not want anything to distract Bibi (Netanyahu) other than the war with Iran".
The American President said: "Herzog is a disgrace, tell him that I will expose him".
Trump noted that he discussed the pardon issue with Herzog over the course of a full year, saying: "He has been holding this over Bibi’s head for a year. I told him I won’t meet with him if he doesn’t grant the pardon".
These statements bring back to the forefront the public pressures that Trump exerted in mid-February, when he attacked Herzog stating that he "should be ashamed of himself" for not issuing the pardon.
At that time, the office of the Israeli President responded that "Israel is governed by law", confirming that Herzog had not made any decision in this matter.
According to Israeli law, the President has the authority to pardon, although Israel has not seen any precedent for a pardon being granted to an official under ongoing trial.
Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister to face charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust while in office, charges which he has denied since the indictment was issued to him in 2019.
