Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former defense attorney said the presidential pardon request that Netanyahu submitted on Sunday could not be granted before the premier admitted guilt in his corruption trial.

“A pardon is given to an offender – that’s what the law stipulates,” said Micah Fettman in an interview with Channel 12.

Fettman’s comments came as anti-Netanyahu protesters rallied outside President Isaac Herzog’s home in Tel Aviv, demanding he reject Netanyahu’s pardon request. Herzog, for his part, said he was seeking a legal opinion on the pardon request before discussing it, and denied reports that he was currently leaning toward conditionally granting the request, or proposing a plea bargain, provided Netanyahu admits guilt and possibly also leaves politics.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Naftali Bennett — the lead candidate to replace Netanyahu — said he would support a presidential pardon for the premier provided he leaves politics.

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.

The premier’s trial began in May 2020 and is still far from reaching an end. He denies any wrongdoing, and has argued that the charges were fabricated in an attempted political coup by the police and state prosecution.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said he would not request a pardon for his corruption trial if it meant admitting guilt. The sweeping 111-page pardon request and appended personal letter he submitted to Herzog on Sunday did not admit guilt or express remorse, while in a video statement Netanyahu continued arguing that the indictment against him was illegitimate and asserted that scrapping it would help “promote broad reconciliation.”

Fettman, who was on Netanyahu’s defense team for some two months at the start of his trial, noted that pardons in Israel are rarely given before a trial, and said the closest precedent to Netanyahu’s case is the 1984 Bus 300 affair, in which Shin Bet agents executed, and then lied about executing, a pair of Palestinians who tried unsuccessfully to hijack an intercity bus carrying 41 Israelis.

But even in that case, then-President Chaim Herzog — father of the current president — granted the pardon only after the offenders acknowledged guilt, noted Fettman. At the time, Fettman said, the High Court made clear that those acknowledgements were a prerequisite for a pardon.

“There’s no way on earth” the attorney general or the state prosecution would recommend that the president pardon Netanyahu without such an admission, said Fettman. The few cases in which presidents have issued pardons against Justice Ministry advice involved gravely ill offenders, not sitting prime ministers, he added.

If Netanyahu frames his pardon request as being “for the good of the country,” the president could conclude that Netanyahu himself must accept conditions to serve that goal, including potentially stepping aside from political life, said Fettman, who quit Netanyahu’s defense team after the court turned down the premier’s request to receive a gift of NIS10 million ($2.9 million at the time) to cover legal expenses.

Herzog said leaning toward conditional pardon; president denies

Hebrew media reported Sunday evening that Herzog may present Netanyahu with a proposal for a plea deal or a conditional bargain that will end his trial. Herzog’s office denied the reports.

Rather than accepting or rejecting Netanyahu’s request outright, Channel 12 reported that Herzog was leaning toward responding with, “Yes, but–” and offering the premier a conditional deal — potentially involving acknowledgments of wrongdoing, limitations on Netanyahu’s future political activity, or other terms.

Sources cited by Channel 12 described what they said was a recent softening in Herzog’s stance toward the idea of ending the long-running corruption trial through an agreed framework.

The report noted that it is difficult to enforce retirement from politics when it is part of a plea deal, as illustrated when Shas leader Aryeh Deri took a deal in 2021 that required him to admit to tax offenses and pledge his resignation from the Knesset, only to return to parliament in the next year’s election.

The High Court of Justice later ruled that Deri could not hold a position in the cabinet because he had given the impression to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in the plea bargain that he was permanently stepping down from public life. The Shas leader claimed that he had never done so.

To avoid a similar problem in the future, Channel 12 reported Herzog may consider issuing a conditional pardon, or one that is invalidated should the premier breach its terms.

Similarly, the Kan public broadcaster reported that even as Herzog examines Netanyahu’s request, he will also be working to revive negotiations for a plea deal. Any such deal, however, would require the prime minister to plead guilty.

Kan also quoted unnamed people close to Herzog saying Netanyahu would not get a pardon without paying a “significant” price.

An unsourced Channel 13 report “assessed” that Herzog would grant a pardon conditioned on Netanyahu calling early elections; general elections are scheduled for no later than next October.

The same TV channel also quoted unnamed sources close to Netanyahu saying the prime minister would not negotiate conditions with Herzog: “It’s all or nothing — either there’s an unconditional pardon or the prime minister will continue with his trial until he is acquitted,” they reportedly said.

It is expected to take several weeks for Herzog to submit his response to Netanyahu on the matter.

A statement published by the Office of the President denied the TV reports, saying that Herzog had not yet discussed the issue. It said Herzog was first seeking a legal opinion on the request, apparently from the Justice Ministry, though the statement did not specify.

Back from the brink?

Writing on X hours after other opposition heads slammed Netanyahu’s pardon request, Bennett said a deal conditioned on the premier’s retirement would bring the nation away from the brink.

“In recent years, the State of Israel has been led into chaos and to the brink of a civil war that threatens the very existence of the state,” Bennett said. “In order to rescue Israel from the chaos, I will support a binding arrangement that includes a respectful retirement from political life alongside the end of the trial.”

“That way, we can let it go, unite, and rebuild the state together,” wrote Bennett.

Speaking outside Herzog’s home, Democrats MK Naama Lazimi, by contrast, assailed Netanyahu’s appeal to national unity in requesting a pardon.

“The only way to unity is by kicking out this corrupt, sleazy man from our lives,” said Lazimi.

Addressing Herzog, she said: “Think very well how you want history to remember you — as the one who dismantled Israel’s legal system, or as the one who put an end to this craziness.”

המוקד: הפגנה מול בית הנשיא: תחפושת של הרצוג ו"חנינה = רפובליקת בננות" (טוביה יגלניק)

— חדשות המוקד (@hamoked_il) November 30, 2025

The protest was held under the slogan “Pardon = Banana Republic.” Attendees stood behind a large pile of bananas topped by a sign with the word “pardon” on it.

One protester wore a mask of Netanyahu’s face and an orange prison-style jumpsuit. Led by another protester wearing a mask of Herzog’s face and waving an Israeli flag, the crowd chanted, “You are the leader, you are guilty” — an anti-Netanyahu slogan referring to his prime ministerial responsibility for the failure to prevent the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.