President Isaac Herzog of Israel holds the fate of Benjamin Netanyahu in his hands as the prime minister on Sunday took the extraordinary step of asking for a pre-verdict pardon on corruption charges that have been tied up in Israel’s court for six years with no end in sight.

The unprecedented request — matching the uniqueness of Mr. Netanyahu becoming the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand 

trial for criminal charges — emerged as popular opinion remains deeply divided over the decade-long case.

Mr. Netanyahu said that it has become clear that the case against him was built on serious violations and the prosecution has only provided exonerating evidence against claims that he personally profited from gifts traded for public support. He added that the prolonged case is creating a drag on Israel’s national unity. 

“The ongoing trial tears us apart from within, fuels fierce disagreements, and deepens divisions. I am sure, like many others, that ending the trial immediately would help lower tensions and promote the broad reconciliation our country so desperately needs,” he said in a video statement.

Mr. Netanyahu, who has repeatedly denied he would seek a pardon, but instead railed on the “witch hunt” against him, said “recent events have tipped the scales” toward ending the case, including a judicial panel’s ruling that he testify three times a week. “This is an impossible demand not required of any other Israeli citizen,” he said.

The prime minister added that public support, demonstrated by his 2022 re-election — after the 2020 start of the trial — proves that Israelis believe he can run the country. “For these reasons, my attorneys have submitted a pardon request to the president today. I expect anyone who has the country’s best interests at heart to support this step,” he said.

Mr. Netanyahu is facing four charges related to fraud, breach of trust, and bribery dating back to 2016. The first charge accuses him of receiving lavish gifts from wealthy businessmen and media moguls in exchange for political favors. Another charge followed secret recordings that suggest Mr. Netanyahu negotiated favorable coverage from the head of one of the nation’s largest newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth, in exchange for tighter restrictions aimed at weakening the paper’s rival competitor.

Later allegations surfaced that Mr. Netanyahu offered the head of telecom company, Bezeq, regulatory benefits in exchange for positive coverage of the cases on its news site Walla! 

Indicted in 2019, Mr. Netanhayu’s trial began at Jerusalem in May 2020 though it was almost a year before some of the 333 witnesses on the witness list began testifying. With the trial delayed by the October 2023 war, Mr. Netanyahu’s team began its defense in December 2024. 

Public opinion leans toward Mr. Netanyahu resigning. A March poll showed 60 percent of those surveyed want him to step down while November polls show the prime minister’s party losing ground to the opposition bloc ahead of the 2026 election. Mr. Netanyahu said the trial itself is “tearing the country apart.”

Mr. Herzog’s office issued a statement on Sunday saying that he received the “exceptional pardon request” and will “consider it with responsibility and due seriousness.” The consideration process itself could last for 30 days and starts with the request being forwarded to the Ministry of Justice followed by information gathering by the clemency department and a legal review by the president’s own legal advisory team. The president will review the recommendation and approve or deny the clemency request.

The leader of Israel’s opposition party, Yair Lapid, denounced the president’s request and said the president should be given no such consideration until Mr. Netanyahu accepts his role and steps down. 

“I call on President Herzog: You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life,” he said in a video post on X.

Among his own team, support for Mr. Netanyahu’s request is split. His defense minister, Israel Katz, and national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said they backed the prime minister, calling the prosecution “born in sin” by a corrupt judiciary system. One of Mr. Netanyahu’s party members, Knesset member Tali Gottlieb, said she  opposed the request, insisting the prime minister has nothing to seek a pardon for. 

“Mr. Prime Minister, why submit a pardon request?? Why allow a blemish on you for no wrongdoing? I’m pained and humiliated by the pardon submission. Your trial is bigger than you and all of us. You’ve proven your persecution and the persecution of the right in an indescribable way. Just in recent weeks, the extent of the persecution and lies has been revealed in all its horror. It’s a shame. Such a shame.”

The prime minister’s biggest overseas supporter, President Trump, had previously appealed to Mr. Herzog to end the trial immediately and pardon the prime minister. Mr. Netanyahu said he made the appeal in part so he and Mr. Trump could continue their work together.

“President Trump called for an immediate end to the trial, so we could work together on vital shared interests between Israel and the United States, in a time window that may not return,” said Mr. Netanyahu.