TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly rejected the prospect of resigning from political life in exchange for a pardon, doubling down on a political survival strategy that critics say has plunged the occupying regime deeper into a constitutional and moral crisis.
Pressed by a reporter during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu responded simply: “No.” His curt refusal reinforced what detractors describe as his relentless determination to cling to office despite facing multiple corruption cases and a deeply fractured public.
Netanyahu attempted to deflect attention, joking that reporters were “very concerned with my future,” while insisting that voters—not prosecutors—would ultimately decide his fate. He went on to praise Israel’s cooperation with Germany, comments that analysts say were designed to project normalcy and leadership while his own legitimacy remains under intense scrutiny.
Netanyahu stands accused in three major corruption cases, charged with fraud, bribery, and breach of trust—crimes that could carry a decade-long prison sentence. His trial, paused during Israel’s devastating genocidal war on Gaza, resumed in December 2023. Opponents accuse him of exploiting wartime chaos to delay accountability and shield himself from legal consequences.
Late last month, the embattled prime minister formally requested a presidential pardon from Isaac Herzog, submitting over 100 pages of legal documents. According to Axios, Netanyahu even appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump for help securing clemency. Trump subsequently sent a letter urging Herzog to pardon Netanyahu—an intervention that critics blasted as inappropriate foreign meddling in Israel’s so-called judicial process.
Herzog, pressed on the matter, stressed that Israel’s “legal” system—not external political pressure—would determine the outcome, vowing to consider the request “on the merits.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid insisted that no pardon should be granted unless Netanyahu admits guilt and permanently leaves politics. Polling for the Times of Israel suggests the public agrees: most Israeli settlers oppose a pardon without an admission of wrongdoing.
Yet Netanyahu’s inner circle remains defiant. His aides told Hebrew media he “will not admit guilt,” while his attorney Amit Hadad argued a pardon would allow Netanyahu to “devote all his time and energy” to leading the occupying regime. 
For Netanyahu’s critics, this is precisely the problem: they argue the prime minister is fighting for his own political survival at any cost.