Former prime minister Naftali Bennett affirmed on Sunday evening that he would support an agreement that leads to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being pardoned by President Isaac Herzog, if Netanyahu fully withdraws from political life.
The affirmation came in a post on Bennett's X/Twitter on Sunday evening.
"In recent years, Israel has been led to chaos and to the brink of a civil war that threatens the very existence of the state," Bennett said.
"In order to extradite Israel from this chaos, I will support a binding agreement that will include a dignified withdrawal [for Netanyahu] from political life alongside the end of the trial," he continued.
"This way, society will be able to put it behind us, unite, and rehabilitate the state together."
Bennett is considered a frontrunner in the opposition in the next round of elections, slated to take place before October 2026.
Weekly opinion polls frequently show that Bennett would be highly likely to form a coalition, ousting Netanyahu as prime minister.
PM Netanyahu submits pardon request to president amid criminal trial
Netanyahu on Sunday submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to Herzog, a move the President’s Office described as an extraordinary step with significant implications.
Netanyahu’s attorney, Amit Hadad, delivered the request to the Legal Department of the President’s Office. Under standard procedure, it has now been transferred to the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department, which will gather professional opinions from all relevant authorities.
Those assessments will then be forwarded to the President’s Legal Advisor and her team, who will prepare an additional recommendation for Herzog before he makes a final decision.
Netanyahu will not consider plea deal requiring him to leave politics, wants to run again
Sources close to Netanyahu said he would not consider a deal that would require him to withdraw from the political arena, The Jerusalem Post learned on Sunday.
"He is planning to run again [in the next elections]," the sources said.
This touches on the core of the debate over the trial and over a plea bargain over the years: Moral turpitude, the principle that would distance Netanyahu from politics. Effectively, what the sources are saying is that, with the ball in Herzog's court, the true win - remaining in politics - may be all but guaranteed.
Sources close to Herzog said that a decision will take at least two months.
The President's Office, in its statement, said that Herzog will consider the request "responsibly and sincerely" once all legal materials are before him. It stressed the unusual nature of the submission, saying it "carries significant implications.”
Amichai Stein and Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.