United States President Donald Trump has called for Israel to cancel the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or grant him a pardon, describing the case against the Israeli leader as a “witch-hunt”.
Trump issued the call on Wednesday on behalf of his close Israeli ally, who was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State (of Israel),” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform using the Israeli leader’s nickname, adding that he had learned that Netanyahu was due to appear in court on Monday.
“Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” Trump added.
Netanyahu’s trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Israeli media have reported that the cross-examination of Netanyahu began on June 3 in a Tel Aviv court and was expected to take about a year to complete.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu, but has been quoted by Israeli media as saying a pardon is “not currently on the table”.
Herzog also said “no such request had been made,” according to the reports.
Trump also said in his post: “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”
It was unclear what Trump or the US government could do to stop Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Trump’s words of support for Netanyahu contrasted with the rare public rebuke he issued against the Israeli leader on Tuesday over Israel’s post-ceasefire strikes on Iran.
“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” Trump told reporters at the time.
Some of Netanyahu’s allies welcomed Trump’s comments, but Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the US president should not intervene in a foreign legal matter.
“With all due respect to Trump, he should not interfere in a legal process in an independent country,” he told Ynet.
Lapid termed Trump’s call as “a compensation” to Netanyahu “because he’s going to pressure him on the Gaza issue – to end the war. That’s typical of Trump.”
Ariel Kellner, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, also rejected Trump’s call to cancel the corruption trial.
“In principle, I oppose any foreign political interference in Israel’s internal affairs. Isn’t it time our judicial system does some soul-searching?” Kellner said.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, however, endorsed Trump’s call to drop the corruption charges against Netanyahu.
“Israel is indeed an independent and sovereign state, but President Trump is absolutely right – it’s time to abolish the absurd sentence that the deep state concocted in an attempt to stage a coup against democracy,” he said in a post on X. “An urgent reform of the judicial system is a must!”
