Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock (Sofer) called Monday evening to cancel Prime Minister Netanyahu's trial outright, saying "years of political persecution disguised as legal proceedings" had changed the face of the country, according to a statement carried by Israeli media.
Minister Sofer's call to cancel the trial is the first such demand from within the cabinet, following a day of mounting political pressure on the legal system. Earlier Monday, Justice Minister Yariv Levin called for ending the trial through pardon or cancellation, as The Zioneer reported at 19:11. The minister's statement aligns with a broader right-wing push after judges in the trial sharply criticized the prosecution's case during Monday's hearing. Similary, National Security Minister Ben Gvir said earlier that a second judicial ruling to dismiss the bribery charge marks 'game over' for the prosecution. Sofer's direct call for outright cancellation — rather than a pardon — marks an escalation in rhetoric from within the government coalition.
The legal proceedings against Prime Minister Netanyahu have been a focal point of Israeli political division for years, with critics alleging overreach by the justice system and supporters calling the charges baseless. Sofer's statement cited 'political boycotts and enormous consequences for Israel' as the result of the trial, without offering a proposed legislative mechanism for cancellation.
What remains open: whether any bill to cancel the trial has been drafted or has cabinet-level support. Levin's call for 'pardon or cancellation' did not specify a process, and no coalition source has yet confirmed a concrete legislative path.
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