Advisor to Israeli president contacts PM Netanyahu’s lawyer over plea deal discussions

Michal Tzuk, legal advisor to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, contacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer on Tuesday to discuss a potential plea agreement that could bring an end to the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial.

The trial, which began in May 2020, was recently paused during the war with Iran. Netanyahu faces charges of breach of trust and corruption in three separate cases and has sought a full pardon, making him the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial while in office.

Hebrew media reported this week that Herzog had ruled out granting Netanyahu a pardon at this stage. The president is reportedly unwilling to ignore the advice of the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department that Netanyahu’s request does not meet the criteria for a legal pardon. 

Tzuk wrote in a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the head of Israel’s prosecution service, and Netanyahu’s lawyer Amit Hadad, that it would be in Israel’s national interest to find a solution that would end Netanyahu’s protracted legal trial. 

“You are therefore invited to come to the President’s Residence as soon as possible to establish the necessary process for holding these talks with a willing heart and with good and appropriate intentions, with both sides entering the room free of commitments and conditions,” Tzuk wrote.

He asked Netanyahu’s lawyer and the attorney general to respond by May 3. 

Critics of the prime minister have called on him to resign over the criminal charges and ongoing trial. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, describing the case as a political witch hunt against him and his family. Some have proposed a deal in which he would receive a pardon in exchange for admitting guilt and leaving politics, but the prime minister has so far signaled he is unwilling to do either.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been campaigning vocally for ending the trial against Netanyahu and urged Herzog on multiple occasions to pardon the prime minister. Trump first raised the issue of pardoning Netanyahu in public during his address in the Israeli Knesset in October 2025, following the American-brokered Gaza ceasefire, which secured the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages. 

In March, Trump reportedly told Israel's Channel 12 Washington correspondent that “Herzog is a disgrace” for not pardoning Netanyahu. 

“I don’t want there to be anything troubling Bibi other than the war with Iran. The only pressure on him should be the fighting against Iran,” Trump told him.

“I told him I wouldn’t meet him [if he doesn’t grant Netanyahu a pardon]. He has been holding it over Bibi’s head for a year,” Trump noted. 

The U.S. president has also called Herzog “weak and pathetic” for not pardoning Netanyahu. 

Herzog announced in October 2025 that he would award Trump the prestigious Israel Prize for the U.S. president’s support for Israel, the Jewish people and promoting peace in the Middle East. However, it is currently unclear when Trump will receive the prize due to the tensions with Herzog and Trump’s unwillingness to meet the Israeli president before Netanyahu is pardoned. 

Herzog has responded to Trump’s criticism by stressing that he appreciates the American president’s support for Israel but argued that Israel is an independent state and that its legal system must not be undermined by international intervention.