Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the notion that he would retire from political life in exchange for a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial, telling reporters he has no intention of bargaining away his future — or his office.
At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu was asked whether he would consider stepping down in return for clemency. The prime minister responded with a mix of sarcasm and defiance.
“They’re very concerned with my future,” Netanyahu said, smirking as he glanced at Merz. “They want to make sure that — how shall I say this? — They’re concerned with my future.”
Netanyahu quickly shifted to a firmer tone.
“Well, so are the voters,” he said. “And they’ll decide, obviously.”
The prime minister’s comments come amid renewed speculation from Israeli legal analysts and political rivals that a plea arrangement could eventually be floated as a way to end the yearslong corruption case without further polarizing the country. Netanyahu made clear he will entertain no such scenario.
Instead, he pivoted to praise Israel’s growing strategic cooperation with Germany, saying the two nations are now entering an era that “in many ways will tower over our previous cooperation” — a remark he then playfully linked to Chancellor Merz’s height.
“That’s not surprising,” Netanyahu added, “because, as you can see, Chancellor Merz is a towering figure.”
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2 Responses
Maybe they should compromise and find a museum that can put him on display,
and more practically, Israelis vote for parties rather than people. Bibi’s name is not on the ballot. If you favor Likud but think Bibi should retire, you end up voting for another party. If you look at the several parties made up of former Likudniks who didn’t get along with Bibi, you’ll notice that if they all returned to (or allied with) a post-Netanyahu Likud, Likud would be close to an absolute majority even with the nationalist or religious parties, meaning Likud without Netanyahu would have a very solid majority in the Knesset.