Trump sends Israeli president letter calling for him to pardon Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump has called on his Israeli counterpart to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate corruption cases. 

In a letter sent to Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, Trump praised Netanyahu's efforts at securing "peace" with Arab countries, something he claimed had "been sought for at least 3,000 years".

"As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords," he wrote to Herzog.

Trump described the corruption case against Netanyahu as being a "political, unjustified prosecution".

"Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done," read the letter.

"Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all."

Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, which he has entered a plea of not guilty to. 

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The prime minister is accused in one case of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods from billionaires in exchange for political favours, as well as attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets in two other cases.

Although Herzog does have the power to pardon Netanyahu, any such request would need to come from the accused or a member of his family.

In response, Herzog's office said that while they held Trump in "high regard", "anyone seeking a pardon must submit a request in accordance with the established procedures".

Trump has repeatedly called for his ally Netanyahu to be pardoned, provoking criticism from Israeli opposition figures.

Netanyahu's court appearances have been repeatedly delayed for a variety of reasons, including Israel's military operations in Gaza, Syria and Iran.

The Israeli prime minister also proposed judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts and prompted massive protests that died out after the start of the genocidal Gaza war in October 2023.