Netanyahu asks Israeli president for a pardon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday formally petitioned the Israeli president for a pardon from his ongoing corruption trial. 

Netanyahu is accused in three separate cases of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. These are allegations he has vehemently denied.  

He has said the legal proceedings are a distraction during a critical period for the country, arguing that a pardon would help unite a deeply divided nation. 

“The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts. I am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs,” he said.

Opponents said granting a pardon without a trial verdict would undermine the rule of law and set a bad precedent.