Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a presidential pardon carries clear political considerations. Netanyahu understands that the chances of the pardon being approved are not high, but the move changes the public conversation from the controversial draft exemption bill, which is politically inconvenient for him right now, to the pardon request.
The move also serves his election campaign well. For Netanyahu, it is essentially a win-win situation. If the pardon is granted, it would obviously be a major achievement for the prime minister. But even if it is rejected, in an election year it still plays to his advantage. It would allow him to claim that the charges against him were baseless and that even the president refused to grant a pardon.
All roads lead to Herzog
If President Isaac Herzog approves the request, Israel could see protests even larger than those that erupted over the judicial overhaul. Herzog is acutely aware of this.
In general, recent developments have centered on putting pressure on the president, including through the visit by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to the courthouse, where he described the proceedings as a "Bugs Bunny trial," despite the fact that Huckabee does not speak Hebrew.
In essence, what changed is that Netanyahu submitted the request formally, but the signs that the pressure was shifting to Herzog have been evident for nearly two months.
