Those discussions were allegedly led by businessman Moti Sender, a close associate of Herzog’s, who tasked a senior lawyer, Eyal Rozovsky, with putting together the legal opinion. <\/p>\n
Herzog’s office denied the report. <\/p>\n
![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/513554-2.jpg\" "\\"Prime")
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left), President Issac Herzog (center), and Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana (right) attend a session of the Knesset plenum in October. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left), President Issac Herzog (center), and Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana (right) attend a session of the Knesset plenum in October. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi<\/p>\n
Not long after the opinion was drawn up, Netanyahu was indicted on three criminal charges: bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The legal proceedings in his case began in May 2020. Herzog was elected in June 2021 and assumed office a month later. <\/p>\n
Last week, Netanyahu submitted a formal request<\/a> to President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his corruption trial. <\/p>\n Haaretz WeeklyFreed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov: ‘I survived months of torture in Iraq – I won’t be silenced in Israel’<\/p>\n play<\/p>\n Haaretz Weekly<\/p>\n Freed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov: ‘I survived months of torture in Iraq – I won’t be silenced in Israel’<\/p>\n Volume: 0.5<\/p>\n 1X<\/p>\n total– : –time0:00<\/p>\n fast forward15<\/p>\n play<\/p>\n rewind15<\/p>\n The opinion relies on the 1984 Bus 300 affair<\/a>, during which the current president’s father, President Chaim Herzog<\/a>, pardoned Shin Bet officials involved in covering up the killing of two captured terrorists.<\/p>\n The report says the opinion concluded that granting an early pardon would require agreement and cooperation from all legal authorities, first and foremost the attorney general.<\/p>\n According to the opinion, a panel of High Court judges is “expected to approve a clear decision by the president” on the matter of a pardon. It also points to the importance of cooperation with the attorney general’s endorsement and the wording of the pardon itself. <\/p>\n The President’s Office called the allegations “baseless,” adding that the “freedom of expression doesn’t justify publishing such shocking and false things about the President of Israel.” Herzog’s office added that the president tasked his lawyer with initiating legal proceedings “against all the reckless slanderers.”<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/p>\n Presidents of Israel are elected in a secret ballot by the Knesset, necessitating an absolute majority. In the 2021 election<\/a>, Herzog \u2013 who led the center-left Zionist Union political alliance in the 2015 Knesset elections \u2013 received 87 votes, besting Israel Prize recipient Miriam Peretz, who received 26 votes. <\/p>\n The Likud didn’t officially throw its support behind any of the candidates, with then-chair of the Likud party’s Knesset faction, Miki Zohar, telling lawmakers to vote their conscience. <\/p>\n A demonstrator holds a sign showing President Isaac Herzog with the words “No pardon” in Jerusalem, December. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi<\/p>\n A demonstrator holds a sign showing President Isaac Herzog with the words “No pardon” in Jerusalem, December. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/979730.jpg\" "\\"A")
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