Skip to main content

Could Netanyahu be pardoned in exchange for quitting politics?

Instead of seeking an immunity law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might explore the possibility of a pardon deal, in exchange for exiting Israel’s political life.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chats with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Middle East War at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1B94342680

If the Channel 13 News poll aired Nov. 10 is anything to go by, the balance of power between Israel’s liberal and conservative voting blocs would remain largely unchanged from the two elections this year if a third round of balloting was held in early 2020. The equivalent of 57 Knesset seats for the center-left parties and 54 for the right-wing, ultra-Orthodox parties, as suggested in the poll results, would leave the deciding votes in the hands of Yisrael Beitenu Chair Avigdor Liberman, whose party would get nine seats in the 120-member legislature — one more than in the September elections. Nonetheless, the poll does not reflect the impact of possible corruption indictments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It stands to reason that the status of an indicted prime minister — if Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit does, indeed, decide in the coming weeks to indict him — would not improve the chances of Netanyahu’s Likud party at the ballot box.

Having failed in strenuous efforts to cull the support of a 61-seat Knesset majority to advance proposed legislation granting him immunity from prosecution, Netanyahu’s last resort in a bid to avoid facing a courtroom would be requesting a pardon from President Reuven Rivlin, pending the recommendation of the attorney general. A knowledgeable source close to the senior echelons of the state prosecutor’s office suggested this week in a conversation with Al-Monitor not to attach much credibility to the determined denials of such a possibility emanating from the prime minister’s office.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.