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Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Monday he will focus solely on "Israel's best interests" when considering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to pardon him on corruption charges.
"It will be reviewed in the most fair and accurate manner. I will only consider the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society," Herzog said in a statement.
Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had submitted the pardon request, saying the long-running court cases were tearing Israel apart.
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog last month, asking him to pardon Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the corruption allegations.
He and his wife Sara are accused in one case of accepting more than $260,000 in luxury gifts such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.
The prime minister is also accused of seeking to negotiate more favorable media coverage from two Israeli media outlets on two other occasions.
As the cases have exposed deep divisions in Israeli society between his supporters and opponents, Netanyahu said he is seeking a pardon in order to "reduce tensions and promote the reconciliation that our country so desperately needs."
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied guilt in court cases and did not admit guilt even on Sunday when he announced that he had asked the president to pardon him.
He appeared before a court in Tel Aviv, where protesters for and against him chanted slogans. Some of the protesters were dressed in orange prison-style uniforms.
"He should be tried like any other citizen in Israel," protester Paula Keusch told AFP.
But pro-Netanyahu demonstrator Rafael Shamir said: "If the good of the country leads Netanyahu to seek a stay of the trial, then I support him."
In Israel, pardons have traditionally been granted only after legal proceedings have been completed and the defendant has been convicted.
Netanyahu's lawyers argued that the president can intervene when the public interest is at stake, as in this case, with the aim of healing divisions and strengthening national unity./ REL
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