While missiles are striking Israeli cities, people are being injured, and sirens are sounding endlessly across the country, Minister Eliyahu has chosen this moment to submit to the President his recommendation to grant a pardon to the Prime Minister. The timing is not coincidental: under the cover of war, a pardon is being advanced. In direct contradiction to the position of the Pardons Department, which determined that the request does not meet the legal requirements, an attempt is being made to promote a disgraceful political decision under the cover of war. This is a shameful decision that ignores the existing legal framework and binding case law, and whose practical meaning is halting a criminal proceeding before any judicial ruling has been issued. A pardon under these circumstances, without admission, without remorse, and without resignation from office, would constitute a direct violation of the principle of separation of powers and set a dangerous precedent that would allow any public official to use political power to evade justice.
We call on President Herzog to stop avoiding a decision and act: a pardon is not a gift to be granted in response to an attack in Iran. The pardon process must not become a refuge for corrupt public officials. There shall be one law for all, for a prime minister and for an ordinary citizen alike.
