U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, during an address to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
U.S. President Donald Trump enters the Knesset, with Israel's President Isaac Herzog and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before he speaks, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. Evan Vucci/Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, during an address to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
During a more than one-hour speech, Trump said:
"Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon? Cigars and some champagne — who the hell cares?" referring to the fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges, which Netanyahu denies.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases, one of which includes receiving almost 700,000 shekels ($210,000) in gifts from businessmen, including champagne and cigars.
Israel's President holds a largely ceremonial role but he does have authority to pardon convicted criminal if there are unusual circumstances presented.
However, there has been no ruling in Netanyahu's long-running trial which began in 2020 and has been interrupted frequently during two years of war and Middle East upheaval. He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
Trump in June called for Netanyahu's trial to be cancelled. Netanyahu has cast his legal ordeal as a left-wing witch-hunt aimed at toppling an elected right-wing leader.
Reporting by Steven Scheer
An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed a senior officer of the Hamas-run Palestinian internal security service in the Gaza Strip and an associate as they travelled in a vehicle through Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, medics and police officials said.
On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly handed High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk a fresh four-year mandate, ignoring clear opposition from the United States, Russia, and Israel.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the U.S. next week.
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