Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published an initial reaction on Wednesday evening to President Donald Trump's letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog asking him to pardon the Prime Minister.
"Thank you, President Trump, for your incredible support. As usual, you get right to the point and call it like it is," the Prime Minister wrote on X.
"I look forward to continuing our partnership to bolster security and expand peace," he added.
Earlier in the day, Herzog published the letter that he received, which read: "It is my honor to write to you at this historic time, as we have, together, just secured peace that has been sought for at least 3,000 years. I hereby thank you, and all Israelis, again, for your gracious and warm hospitality, and am addressing a key topic of my speech at the Knesset."
"As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords."
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted," Trump explained.
"While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this 'case' against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution."
The letter addressed the Israeli President: "Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done."
"Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all. Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump concluded.
The Israeli President's Office responded that "President Herzog holds President Trump in the highest regard and continues to express his deep appreciation for President Trump’s unwavering support for Israel, his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, to reshaping the situation in the Middle East and Gaza especially, and to ensuring the security of the State of Israel."
It added that "alongside and not withstanding this, as the Office of the President has made clear throughout, anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures."