Former Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak will meet with President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday evening to discuss ways in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial might be brought to an end, Hebrew media reported Monday.

According to a Channel 12 news report, Barak intends to tell Herzog that he is opposed to a pardon for Netanyahu, which the president can technically grant. Were Herzog to issue such a pardon, Barak would reportedly tell the president he must condition it on Netanyahu leaving public office.

The former Supreme Court president will also reportedly tell Herzog that any plea bargain with Netanyahu that ends the trial without him having to resign from public office would be unacceptable.

Barak has expressed support on several occasions for bringing the trial — now in its sixth year — to a close, but only if Netanyahu leaves office.

Last week, it was revealed that Barak met with Netanyahu’s lawyer in January in a bid to reach a plea bargain, but the effort faltered due to the prime minister’s refusal to step down.

A similar attempt to reach a plea bargain, also mediated by Barak, back in 2022, foundered for the same reason.

US President Donald Trump has brought the issue back to the headlines in recent days, after he twice called for the trial to be canceled on his Truth Social platform.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained Monday that the trial “interferes” with both Iran and Gaza negotiations because it requires the Israeli premier to appear in court “when he’s in the middle of negotiating a peace deal and bringing hostages out of a war-torn region.”

However, Netanyahu’s court appearances have not been........

© The Times of Israel