Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the idea of stepping down from politics in exchange for a pardon, insisting he has no intention of leaving office during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Asked directly whether he would retire from political life in return for the closure of his corruption cases, Netanyahu replied simply: "No."
He later joked about the question, telling Merz, "They’re very concerned with my future."
Netanyahu also announced that Israel had nearly completed the first phase of the US-brokered Gaza peace plan.
"We're almost there. We have one more hostage, deceased Rani Gvili, a hero of Israel, to return here. And then we very shortly expect to move into the second phase, which is more difficult, or equally difficult," he said.
Pressed on the slow progress of hostage releases and the timeline for the second phase, Netanyahu said Israel was 'close' to moving forward but admitted unresolved issues remain, including the role of international peace-keeping forces and coordination with the United States.
The Israeli PM pushed back on suggestions of differences with Washington, telling journalists: "I haven’t seen yet a clear delineation of what you say is the American position […] That’s exactly what I’m going to talk to President Trump about."
Netanyahu also reaffirmed Israel’s red lines, ruling out a Palestinian state in the near future.
"We’re not going to create a state that will be committed to our destruction at our doorstep," he said, adding that "the sovereign power of security from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea will always remain in Israel’s hands."
It comes after Trump formally requested that Israeli President Isaac Herzog grant a full pardon to Netanyahu, who is currently standing trial on corruption charges.
In a request made in a letter delivered to Herzog’s office, Trump argued that the case against the Israeli PM, who is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, was entirely political.
"I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive wartime prime Minister," Trump wrote. "Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him and ending that lawfare once and for all."
Herzog's office confirmed receipt of the letter, but reiterated that the process for a presidential pardon in Israel requires the individual seeking the pardon to submit a formal request in accordance with established legal procedures. Netanyahu has since submitted his own pardon request.
Mandatory credit: GPO
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