FILE PHOTO: Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid delivers a statement at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament,, in Jerusalem, February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

i24 news – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, igniting a political firestorm across Israel’s political landscape.

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid called on President Herzog to reject the request outright.

“You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and his immediate departure from political life,” Lapid said.

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party and a retired major general, condemned the move as an implicit admission of guilt.

“The only acceptable arrangement is for Netanyahu to take responsibility, admit guilt, leave politics, and release the nation from this crisis. Only then can unity be restored.”

National Unity Party chairman Benny Gantz accused Netanyahu of using the request to distract the public from the controversial draft-exemption bill.

“He’s acting like an arsonist who starts a fire and then demands protection money to put it out,” Gantz said. “Instead of inflaming tensions, put out the fire you started. Stop harming democracy, call elections, and only then pursue a plea deal or a pardon.”

MK Gilad Kariv also denounced the request.

“After eight years of claiming the cases were collapsing and that there was ‘nothing because there is nothing,’ he is now seeking a pardon,” Kariv wrote. “He refuses to take responsibility or admit guilt. The top national priority is ending Netanyahu’s rule, which has brought repeated disasters and deepened the decay of Israel’s political culture.”

Coalition members, however, lined up firmly behind Netanyahu.

Defense Minister Israel Katz voiced full support:

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said granting a pardon was essential for state security.

“The judicial system, and especially a corrupt State Attorney’s Office that fabricated cases, must be reformed. A pardon and reform go hand in hand.”

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar added:

“The time has come to free Israel from the saga of Netanyahu’s trial, which is tearing the nation apart.”

Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz praised Netanyahu’s decision as “an enormous act of leadership,” claiming the trial is collapsing and was politically motivated from the start.

“For the sake of national healing, he has chosen this path,” Katz said.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat likewise urged President Herzog to end the trial.

“After a difficult war, Israel must embark on a path of unity. This is the moment to pardon the Prime Minister.”

At the same time, Likud MK Tali Gottlieb criticized Netanyahu from the right—lamenting that he requested a pardon at all.

“Why cast yourself in a negative light when you did nothing wrong?” she said. “Your trial has exposed unprecedented persecution. It is shameful to submit this request.”

The Movement for Quality Government demanded that President Herzog refuse the request immediately.

“A pardon in the middle of a legal proceeding is a mortal blow to the rule of law and equality before the law,” the organization warned. “Granting clemency to a sitting prime minister accused of serious fraud and breach of trust sends a message that some citizens are above the law.”

Pro-democracy protest leaders, Shikma Bressler, Moshe Radman, Yaya Fink, and Ami Dror issued a harsh statement:

“The thief’s hat is on fire. The defendant is begging for a pardon. History will judge Herzog for this moment. Anything less than rejecting the request will make the President complicit in Israel’s destruction.”

The protest movements announced an emergency demonstration Sunday evening outside the President’s Residence in Tel Aviv.

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and officials upon arrival at Rafic Hariri International Airport, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, November 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin

Pope Leo said on Sunday that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state, reaffirming the Vatican’s position.

“We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution,” Leo, the first US pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference.

“We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone,” added the pope, speaking in Italian.

Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed opposition to a Palestinian state after even its biggest ally the US indicated support for Palestinian independence.

Leo spoke in a brief eight-minute press conference focused on his visit to Turkey, which he visited from Thursday to Sunday on his first overseas trip since election in May as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

The pope said he and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed both the Israel-Palestinian and Ukraine-Russia conflicts. Turkey has an important role to play helping end both wars, Leo said.

During his visit to Turkey, the pope warned that humanity’s future was at risk because of the world’s unusual number of bloody conflicts and condemned violence in the name of religion.

CRITICAL OF ISRAELI MILITARY IN GAZA

Leo, who usually prefers using careful, diplomatic language, ramped up criticism earlier this year of Israel‘s military campaign in Gaza.

Turkey is predominantly Muslim but is also home to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians.

Leo praised Turkey as an example of religious co-existence.

“People of different religions are able to live in peace,” said the pope. “That is one example of what I think we all would be looking for throughout the world.”

Leo is visiting Lebanon until Tuesday, when he returns to Rome.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Cairo, Egypt March 1, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

i24 News – Cairo has launched a major initiative to train Palestinian police officers who are expected to join a future security force in Gaza once the ongoing conflict concludes.

The program was first announced last summer by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

The training began with an initial cohort of more than 500 officers in March, and resumed in September with new groups. The program aims to prepare a total of 5,000 police officers, all from Gaza, with funding provided by the Palestinian Authority.

“We aspire to a definitive end to the fighting and hope to serve our homeland and fellow citizens,” said a 26-year-old trainee, expressing satisfaction with the program. He added that the goal is to establish a security force “autonomous, loyal only to Palestine, and free from external influence.”

An anonymous Palestinian lieutenant, who left Gaza with his family in 2024, described the program as offering “high-level operational training, with modern equipment for border control.” The curriculum also covers the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas offensive and its implications for the Palestinian cause.

The training emphasizes the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reinforces the aim of building an independent Palestinian state.

A senior Palestinian Authority official confirmed that President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Reeh to coordinate with Egypt in establishing these security units for Gaza.

As part of broader reconciliation efforts, Palestinian factions—including Hamas and Fatah, agreed in late 2024 under Egyptian mediation to create a 10,000-strong police force. Half of the officers will be trained by Egypt, and the other half drawn from Gaza’s police ranks, which have been under Hamas control since 2007.

The force is planned to operate under a technocratic committee approved by all Palestinian movements, tasked with administering Gaza post-conflict. A Hamas official told AFP that the organization supports the security and governance arrangements agreed upon during the talks.