U.S. President Donald Trump said Israeli President Isaac Herzog is “disgraceful” for not granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that he “should be ashamed of himself”.
Speaking in the Oval Office a day after meeting Netanyahu at the White House, Trump criticised Herzog for not exercising his clemency powers.
“You have a president who refuses to give him a pardon. He should be ashamed of himself,” Trump told reporters. “He is disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it.”
Trump described Netanyahu as an “extraordinary” wartime leader and said Israelis should pressure Herzog to issue a pardon. He has previously urged clemency publicly and sent a letter to Herzog in November 2025 encouraging him to grant it.
Herzog’s office said no decision has been made.
“Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law,” the president’s office said in a statement.
“For the sake of clarity, as has been explained repeatedly, the Prime Minister’s request is, according to the procedures, under review at the Ministry of Justice for a legal opinion.”
The statement added that only after that process is completed will Herzog consider the request in accordance with the law and “without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind”.
Herzog’s office also stated that the president “deeply appreciates President Trump for his significant contribution to the State of Israel and its security” but stressed that the legal process must run its course.
Trump has publicly urged the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu several times, and said in late December that Herzog had told him the pardon was on its way. Herzog's office was quick to dispute it.
Netanyahu formally submitted a pardon request on 30 November last year, seeking relief from corruption charges without admitting wrongdoing or stepping down from public life. Despite previously saying he would not seek clemency, he later filed the request.
He has been on trial since 2020 in three cases, known as Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000, involving allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all charges.
Under Israeli law, a presidential pardon can generally only be granted following an admission of guilt, and there is no precedent for issuing one while a trial is ongoing.
Beyond the domestic proceedings, Netanyahu is also facing international legal scrutiny. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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Tensions across the Middle East continue to escalate following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region, with military operations and regional security developments continuing to unfold.
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its sixth day and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. air assault were blocked in Washington.
Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said on Thursday (5 March), a day after at least 87 were killed in the attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
At least 42 people have been killed and 104 wounded in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday. The latest death toll figures come as fighting between the two neighbours enters its sixth day.
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
A power outage struck most of Cuba, including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday (5 March), as the Communist-run government grapples with increased pressure from the Trump administration that has curtailed oil shipments.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
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