Trump calls Netanyahu 'hero', demands end to trial

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Israel to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or cancel his corruption trial, saying the United States would save him, just as it had saved his country.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust — accusations he denies. The trial began in 2020 and covers three separate criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty.

“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a pardon given to a great hero who has done so much for the State (of Israel),” Trump wrote on Truth Social, saying he had learnt Netanyahu was due to appear in court on Monday.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu’s cross-examination began on June 3 in a Tel Aviv court and is expected to take about a year.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has the authority to pardon Netanyahu but has said — according to Israeli media — that such a request had not been made and a pardon was “not currently on the table”.

Trump praised Netanyahu as a “warrior”, but also said: “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”

That appeared to be a reference to US backing for Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme.

It remained unclear whether Trump meant the US could take any actual steps to help Netanyahu’s legal case.

Trump described the Israeli leader’s trial as a “witch hunt” — a term he often uses to describe the criminal cases against himself.

His comments came a day after he had criticised Israel’s strikes on Iran following a ceasefire.

“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” he told reporters.

Referring to the long-standing conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump added: “They’ve been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”