Israeli PM Netanyahu Seeks Presidential Pardon Amid Ongoing Corruption Trials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally requested a pardon from President Isaac Herzog over multiple corruption cases that have been ongoing for the past five years.

According to a statement from the President’s office, Herzog will consider the request only after receiving opinions from justice officials, noting that the matter “carries with it significant implications.” No timeline has been given for a decision.

Netanyahu has been standing trial on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in connection with three separate cases.

He denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly described the legal proceedings as a “witch hunt” by his political opponents.

In a video message released on Sunday, Netanyahu stated that while he would have preferred to see the judicial process through to the end, “national interest demanded otherwise.”

He argued that the trials were straining the nation and said a pardon could help restore national unity.

“I am certain, as are many others in the nation, that an immediate end to the trial would greatly help lower the flames and promote broad reconciliation—something our country desperately needs,” Netanyahu said.

He described the court’s requirement for him to testify three times a week as “an impossible demand.”

The allegations against the prime minister date back to 2020, when he became the first sitting Israeli leader to stand trial.

In the first case, prosecutors alleged that he received gifts, including cigars and bottles of champagne, from influential businessmen in exchange for favours.

In a second case, he was accused of offering to assist in improving the circulation of an Israeli newspaper in exchange for positive media coverage.

In the third, Netanyahu allegedly promoted regulatory decisions favourable to the controlling shareholder of a telecom company in return for favourable online coverage.

Opposition parties have strongly criticised Netanyahu’s move.

Yair Lapid, a former Prime Minister and current opposition leader, said that a pardon would require an admission of guilt, a demonstration of remorse, and Netanyahu’s immediate retirement from political life.

Left-wing politician Yair Golan described the pardon request as “only what the guilty would seek.”

Despite the opposition, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party and supporters have long backed a pardon for their leader.

Some international observers note that granting such a pardon, especially before a conviction, would be highly controversial in Israel’s democratic context.

Israel’s Basic Law allows the president to pardon criminals or reduce their sentences.

The High Court of Justice has previously ruled that the president can issue a pardon before a conviction if it serves the public interest or addresses extreme personal circumstances.

The issue is further complicated by Netanyahu’s political and security context.

Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Israel–Hamas conflict.

Netanyahu has condemned the ICC move as “antisemitic.”

Netanyahu’s request comes amid persistent public debates in Israel over judicial reform and governance.

US–South Africa Rift Deepens Over G20 Boycott and Diplomatic Snubs

Diplomatic relations between the United States and South Africa have hit an unprecedented low, culminating in a series of public snubs, policy escalations, and accusations that threaten to reshape both nations’ global standing.

The latest flashpoint emerged following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to boycott the November 2025 Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg and his subsequent announcement that South Africa would be excluded from the 2026 G20 summit in Miami.

Trump’s absence from the Johannesburg summit was not merely a scheduling issue.

According to reports, the boycott was a deliberate protest, justified by his claim that South Africa persecutes its Afrikaner white minority, a charge that Pretoria has consistently denied.

The move left global observers questioning the United States’ commitment to multilateralism, especially at a forum tasked with addressing global challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and security threats.

Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League, noted that “the G20 is a forum where the world’s largest economies confront shared challenges… For the U.S., participation is not optional—it is a solemn duty.” Skipping the summit, he argued, signals that America’s engagement in global affairs is increasingly negotiable.

The diplomatic rift, however, predates the summit.

In May 2025, President Trump reportedly showed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa doctored videos in the Oval Office, claiming they depicted anti-white discrimination in South Africa.

The videos, widely condemned as false, were described by critics as an “assault on truth and an affront to a nation that has stood as a beacon of democratic progress on the continent.”

Tensions escalated further on November 29, 2025, when Trump announced South Africa’s exclusion from the 2026 Miami G20 summit.

The U.S. president cited alleged human rights violations and revived claims of attacks on white farmers, describing it as a “campaign of dispossession—and even deadly persecution—targeting white farmers.”

Trump added on Truth Social that South Africa had “demonstrated to the world they were not a country worthy of membership anywhere.”

South Africa’s response was swift and firm. Pretoria rejected the allegations as misinformation and emphasized that the G20 presidency handover in Johannesburg had occurred properly despite the U.S. absence.

President Ramaphosa also bypassed protocol by refusing to hand over the G20 presidency to a junior U.S. official, instead conducting the handover at the foreign affairs ministry level, a move widely interpreted as a subtle diplomatic snub.

Insecurity: US Spy Plane Begins Operations in Nigeria 

A United States Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft has reportedly begun operations over the northeast region of Nigeria, a security analyst and Sahel terrorism expert, Brant Philip, has claimed.

Philip, who monitors jihadi activities in West Africa, said the aircraft, which departed from Accra, Ghana, conducted surveillance over territories controlled by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State.

“Confirming my earlier reports, a manned US ISR aircraft was conducting reconnaissance today over ISWAP territory in southwestern Lake Chad, Borno State. It originally took off from Accra, Ghana and is currently on its way back,” he wrote on X on Saturday.

He had earlier alleged that the US Department of War had been conducting reconnaissance missions in western Nigeria without public approval from the Federal Government, suggesting that a security agreement may have been reached behind closed doors.

Philip added that the purported agreement would allow the U.S. to carry out drone strikes on terrorist targets within Nigeria.

“According to a private source familiar with the military deal between the US and Nigeria, the US will be allowed to conduct UAV airstrikes against terrorist targets inside Nigeria. The scope only includes unmanned aircraft, not fighter jets or bombers,” he noted.

He also said that U.S. aircraft would help the Nigerian military fill intelligence gaps and might use the Kainji Air Base in Niger State as a launch point for operations.

On Sunday, he claimed the aircraft returned for the third consecutive day to carry out surveillance over ISWAP’s “Mantiqah Krinwa” in Borno.

However, former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, reacted to Philip’s posts, urging him to refrain from disclosing sensitive information that could compromise security.

“Stop exposing this vital information to ISWAP please,” he wrote.

The development comes shortly after a Nigerian security delegation, led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, visited the Pentagon following Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” by U.S. President Donald Trump over alleged violence against Christians.

A statement issued by the U.S. Department of War confirmed the meeting.

“On Nov. 20, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed a delegation of security leaders from the Federal Republic of Nigeria… Both leaders discussed ways to make tangible progress on stopping violence against Christians in Nigeria and combatting West African jihadist terrorist groups,” the statement read.

Members of the delegation included the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt. Gen. E.A.P. Undiendeye, among others.

Trump had earlier threatened to deploy U.S. forces to Nigeria to “wipe out Islamic terrorists,” a remark dismissed by the Nigerian Presidency.

As of now, neither the Federal Government nor U.S. authorities have officially confirmed the surveillance flights.