Netanyahu says he won't quit politics in exchange for pardon in corruption trial

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he will not retire from politics in exchange for a pardon in his corruption trial, and also that he is not interested in a plea bargain.
The premier flatly rejected the notion of quitting public life in exchange for a pardon, which has been floated since he officially requested a pardon from President Isaac Herzog last week, during a joint press conference in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Do you intend to retire from public life if you receive a pardon?” Netanyahu was asked at the tail end of their appearance.
“No,” he replied.
“Are you open to a plea bargain?” came the follow-up question.
“No,” he replied again.
“And the last thing that I will say: They’re very eager. They’re very concerned with my future. They want to make sure that I’ll — how shall I say this? — they’re concerned for my future,” Netanyahu then said. “Well, so are the voters, and they’ll decide, obviously.”
“But we have big tasks to do, including with Germany in historic cooperation that will actually… in many ways, tower over our previous cooperation, which was quite amazing. But that’s not surprising, because, as you can see, Chancellor Merz is a towering figure,” Netanyahu joked, referring to the German leader’s height.
He and Merz then left.
Netanyahu is charged with one count of bribery, and three counts each of fraud and breach of trust, in three separate cases. The charges relate to allegations of improper manipulation of the press and receiving illicit gifts in return for government favors.
He denies any wrongdoing and has argued that the charges were fabricated in an attempted political coup by the police and state prosecution.
Netanyahu was indicted in November 2019 and his trial began in May 2020 after years of investigation. He has faced calls throughout by opposition figures for him to resign over the charges. Analysts have estimated that, should it continue, the trial will take several more years.
In his pardon request last week, Netanyahu did not admit any guilt and, in a video statement issued shortly afterward, continued to contest the charges against him and the legitimacy of the process by which he was indicted.
He also did not indicate any readiness to step down as prime minister, an idea that he fully shot down Sunday.
Herzog, who is likely to take weeks or even months to decide whether to grant the pardon, said last week that he will consider “only the good of the country” in his decision.
According to a survey conducted last week for Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, a majority of Israelis oppose granting Netanyahu a presidential pardon.
In response to the question “Do you support or oppose Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon without admitting guilt or expressing remorse?” 53.2 percent of respondents said they oppose it, while 42.4% said they support it and 4.4% said they don’t know.