{"id":96715,"date":"2026-05-04T07:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/96715\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T07:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:39:11","slug":"heeding-herzog-ag-okays-unconditional-talks-for-plea-deal-in-netanyahus-graft-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/96715\/","title":{"rendered":"Heeding Herzog, AG okays unconditional talks for plea deal in Netanyahu’s graft trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

The prosecution in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s corruption trial has agreed to hold talks on a \u201csuitable plea bargain,\u201d the attorney general\u2019s office informed President Isaac Herzog\u2019s legal adviser on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman \u201cappreciate the honorable president\u2019s efforts\u201d to reach a deal, and are willing to negotiate \u201cprovided there are no preconditions, and without detracting from the trial\u2019s progress,\u201d they said in a letter signed by an assistant to Baharav-Miara.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the present time we will not address additional issues including the format of the discussion, the nature of discussion and its location,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s lawyers have yet to respond to last week\u2019s invitation<\/a> from Herzog\u2019s legal adviser Michal Tzuk to try and hash out \u201cagreements\u201d at the President\u2019s Residence.<\/p>\n

Tzuk stated in a letter that an \u201carrangement\u201d would be in the interest of the country, and noted that the president had publicly expressed this position several times.<\/p>\n

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She asked them to reply to the invitation by May 3.<\/p>\n

Also last week, Herzog said he would not currently grant Netanyahu\u2019s request for a pardon and would instead seek to mediate a plea deal in the trial.<\/p>\n

Herzog has held off on granting Netanyahu a pardon despite immense pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has personally lashed out at the Israeli president multiple times, calling him \u201cweak and pathetic\u201d and demanding that he immediately pardon the prime minister.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s supporters have echoed that request, insisting on Netanyahu\u2019s innocence and saying the trial is dividing the country.<\/p>\n

On the other side, the Justice Ministry\u2019s Pardons Department advised<\/a> Herzog against accepting the pardon request, citing the premier\u2019s ongoing trial and failure to admit any guilt.<\/p>\n

The prosecution\u2019s agreement to hold plea deal talks marked a reversal from Baharav-Miara\u2019s position in May 2023, when she told<\/a> Netanyahu\u2019s defense team that she was not interested in a nonbinding mediation process suggested by one of the judges in the premier\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court for his corruption trial, October 15, 2025. (Reuven Kastro\/POOL)<\/p>\n

Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to go on trial. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the cases against him \u2014 which concern allegations that he traded political favors for gifts and favorable press coverage \u2014 are a witch hunt and a political coup attempt fabricated by his opponents.<\/p>\n

The prime minister formally requested a pardon in November, arguing that the trial was tearing the country apart and distracting him from his duties. But he did not admit guilt, raising the question of whether he could receive a pardon while his trial was ongoing.<\/p>\n

In previous plea deal talks Netanyahu has also reportedly balked at accepting a clause of \u201cmoral turpitude\u201d \u2014 which would bar him from public office for seven years.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu began testifying in his trial in late 2024, but his cross-examination has been frequently canceled or cut short<\/a> following requests from his lawyers that cited urgent matters of state.<\/p>\n

His scheduled appearance in court on Monday was canceled following an overnight message from his attorney, the court administration said in a statement Monday morning, without elaborating. Netanyahu resumed his testimony\u00a0last week following a two-month delay due to the Iran war.<\/p>\n


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