Donald Trump has taken the extraordinary step of writing to Israel's President Isaac Herzog, calling on him to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu of long-standing corruption charges.
In an undated letter released by Mr Herzog's office, Mr Trump said he respected Israel's independent judicial system.
But he argued the case against Mr Netanyahu was a "political, unjustified prosecution".
Mr Trump said Mr Netanyahu was a "formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace" after "terribly difficult times of the last three years".
"Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all," Mr Trump wrote.
Mr Herzog said he held Mr Trump in the highest regard.
But in a statement, he added that anyone seeking a presidential pardon must "submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures".
Mr Netanyahu posted a note on social media hours later that did not mention the letter explicitly, but thanked Mr Trump for his "incredible support".
"As usual, you get right to the point and call it like it is," he wrote.
"I look forward to continuing our partnership to bolster security and expand peace."
Trump made the suggestion before
It is not the first time Mr Trump has criticised the corruption charges against Mr Netanyahu.
He called upon Mr Herzog to pardon the Israeli prime minister during a speech to the Knesset last month, saying "who the hell cares" about the allegations Mr Netanyahu accepted gifts including cigars and champagne from wealthy benefactors.
"This man is a good man right here," Mr Trump said, referring to Mr Netanyahu while looking towards Mr Herzog.
"Hey, I have an idea, Mr president. Why don't you give him a pardon?"
The US president has also previously called the trial a "witch-hunt" on social media.
"I don't think they treat him very well," Mr Trump told US network CBS last month.
"He's under trial for some things, and I don't think they treat him well.
"We'll be involved in that to help him out a little bit, because I think that's very unfair."
Mr Netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in 2019 — all of which he denies.
His trial began in 2020, and since December last year he has been spending a few hours a day, two to three times a week, giving evidence in the case.
Letter met with praise and opposition
Mr Netanyahu's political opponents pounced on the letter in a bid to explain Israeli legal processes.
"Reminder, Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse for the actions," Opposition Leader Yair Lapis said in a post on social media platform X.
In recent weeks, debate as to whether there could or should be a legislative fix to end the trial has been whipped into a frenzy.
Some of the prime minister's backers have echoed his own sentiments, accusing the "deep state" of being out to get him.
"The fabricated and despicable indictments against Prime Minister Netanyahu have long since become an indictment against the prosecution, whose slander and crimes are exposed in court every day," National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X.
"A pardon in this case is the right and urgent thing to do.
"President Herzog, listen to President Trump!"
Another opposition politician, Yair Golan, posted that Mr Netanyahu could not accept a pardon if he continued insisting the charges against him were baseless.
"If he's struggling to run a country and a trial at the same time — he should resign," he said.
"The law is clear — and everyone is equal before it."
Debate over legal precedent for pre-emptive pardon
For months, Mr Netanyahu's backers and critics have argued about whether there is a legal precedent for an Israeli president to pardon the prime minister, given his trial is underway.
Some have pointed to a pardon issued by the current president's father, Chaim Herzog, when he was in the role in the 1980s.
He issued a pardon relating to the so-called Bus 300 affair, where officials from the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet were charged after two Palestinian bus hijackers were executed after they had been captured by authorities.
But that pardon was issued prior to a trial starting and out of concerns for the exposure a court case would bring to national security matters.
Yoav Dotan from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said any decision to pardon Mr Netanyahu could be challenged in the courts.
"Let's assume, which I doubt, that Herzog himself would like to seriously consider Trump's letter and pardon Netanyahu," Professor Dotan told the ABC.
"President Herzog knows that his decisions would be immediately attacked before the High Court of Justice, which is highly likely to interfere.
"So even assuming that Herzog thought about it seriously, I think he would be reluctant to decide to pardon because he knows that his decision is subject to a review by the High Court of Justice."
Professor Dotan said the fact Mr Netanyahu's trial was already underway was not necessarily a reason for a pardon to not be issued.
"Formally, on paper, the power of pardon by the president is not limited to any specific phase of the process, and it is true that there is no precedent for pardon during trial," he said.
"There's another condition for pardon — that is, the person accused has to admit that he conducted the felony or the crime, and Netanyahu is not willing, at least at this stage, to admit anything.
"He fiercely denies the allegation against him."
Professor Dotan suggested there was a different tone to Mr Trump's comments about Mr Netanyahu's trial compared to previous matters.
"He interfered more or less in the same way, or even in a more aggressive manner, in the decisions of the Brazilian system of justice by threatening the justices that tried [former president Jair] Bolsonaro in Brazil," he said.
"So, yes, this is unprecedented, and there's no question that this letter is extremely problematic on many levels.
"But, you know, this is Trump and everybody seems to go along with it because it is Trump."
