Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would not retire from political life in exchange for a pardon, the latest twist in a saga gripping Israeli politics after US President Donald Trump intervened on his behalf.
Mr Netanyahu rejected the idea at the end of a press conference in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The Prime Minister said only Israeli voters will decide his future.
The Israeli leader has requested a pardon – also supported by Mr Trump – over corruption charges, which he denies. Opposition leaders including former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid have backed the idea of asking Mr Netanyahu to withdraw from political life in exchange for any pardon.
The German visit was an important moment for Mr Netanyahu, who is struggling in polls and is unable to visit many European capitals for fear of being arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant. The court last year issued warrants against him and Israel’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant on allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Merz also addressed the second phase of an ambiguous ceasefire arrangement in Gaza and the situation in the occupied West Bank, where violence by Israeli settlers and the military continues to escalate.
Germany is one of Israel’s closest allies but took unprecedented measures against it during the Gaza war, including issuing a partial arms embargo in response to an offensive in Gaza city. The embargo was lifted in November, shortly after Gaza's ceasefire came into effect in the previous month.
Last week, Israel supplied Germany with its Arrow 3 missile defence system in a deal worth $4.6 billion, the largest defence export in Israeli history.
During the press conference, Mr Merz said Israel’s military operations put Germany in a “dilemma” and that “unusual circumstances in those weeks and months” compelled him to enact the partial embargo. He added “the situation has now changed”.
Speaking about Gaza’s future, Mr Merz said “what is most important now is that Gaza and this region can enter into the second stage”, referring to the shaky deal the US oversaw at the end of the war, which is supposed to lead to lasting peace.
Germany, along with a broad group of nations, is part of efforts to support the deal. Despite the breadth of support, there are many questions about the likelihood of it progressing, given looming issues such as Hamas disarmament and the prospect of the US losing interest with the process as it confronts other foreign policy issues.
“We finished the first part, as you know, phase one, We’re almost there,” Mr Netanyahu said. He doubled down on Israel’s insistence that Hamas rule in the strip must end, calling it “an essential part of ensuring a different future for Gaza and a different future for us facing Gaza”.
Mr Merz also reiterated Germany’s opposition to “any [Israeli] annexation in the West Bank”, a key policy priority of many in Israel’s government. Mr Netanyahu said Israel “will always insist [that] the sovereign power of security from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea will always remain in Israel’s hand”.
He added Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank “has nothing to do with the question of political annexation that remains a subject of discussion”.
“You ask about concrete plans but that is not something I think we’re heading to in the current come. It will be raised eventually but not at the current time,” he said.
