President’s legal team invites prosecution, defense to preliminary plea-deal talks

The move is a first step intended to test whether deals can be reached before President Isaac Herzog considers Netanyahu’s pardon request.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense team and the prosecution have been invited by President Isaac Herzog’s legal team to begin preliminary discussions on a possible plea deal in the criminal trial that has divided Israel for years.

Herzog’s legal adviser, Michal Tsuk-Shafir, wrote to both sides in the matter on Tuesday evening, inviting them to meet at the president’s residence in Jerusalem to begin a process to explore whether negotiations could be opened “with an open heart and sincere good intention.” Both sides had until Tuesday to submit their responses.

Tsuk-Shafir clarified that agreeing to participate in the process would not constitute acceptance of the other side’s legal positions in the trial, where testimony is still ongoing. After a two-month hiatus due to the war in Iran, Netanyahu returned to the witness stand on Tuesday as cross-examination continued.

The step proposed by Herzog’s office is only preliminary: to determine whether agreements can be reached before the president addresses the pardon request itself.

Tsuk-Shafir wrote that Herzog believes that “before considering the exercise of the president’s pardon power,” the possibility of discussions between the parties aimed at reaching agreements “must first be exhausted.”

The letter follows a report earlier this week that Herzog was seeking to promote a plea bargain.

Herzog has repeatedly expressed the position that an agreed resolution would be preferable, a view also expressed over the years by top legal experts and jurists.

Netanyahu indicted for corruption, fraud and breach of trust

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His testimony began in December 2024 and his cross-examination began in June 2025. The Prime Minister denies all accusations against him.

However, at this stage the proposal has not yet been reviewed by all relevant officials. The attorney general’s office clarified Tuesday evening that the new offer had not yet been discussed.

Tsuk-Shafir wrote that “there appears to be no dispute” about the value of conciliation talks that could lead to an agreed resolution, “particularly on issues at the heart of public debate in Israel.”