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US President Donald Trump criticised Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday evening for not granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial, prompting a firm reply from the Israeli president’s office.

Speaking to reporters about Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and other political and security issues, Trump said: “President Herzog should be ashamed of himself, a pardon over this trial that’s going on. The president of Israel, the primary power he’s got is the power to give pardons.”

Repeating his criticism, Trump added: “he said he’s given it five different times, but he doesn’t want to do it, because I guess he loses his power. I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He is disgraceful for not giving it.”

READ: Herzog says he will consider Netanyahu’s pardon request only in the state’s interest

In response, the office of Isaac Herzog said: “The prime minister’s request is currently under review at the Justice Ministry for a legal opinion in accordance with the established procedures,” according to The Times of Israel.

The statement added, “Only upon completion of that process will President Herzog consider the request in accordance with the law, the best interests of the State of Israel, guided by his conscience, and without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind.”

It stressed that “Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law.”

The statement also noted that President Herzog appreciates the significant contribution made by Donald Trump to Israel and its security.

It concluded: “Contrary to the impression created by President Trump’s remarks, President Herzog has not yet made any decision on this matter.”

READ: Netanyahu may seek Trump’s backing for Gaza relocation plan: Hebrew newspaper

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.