Balance of Power

Israeli Rifts Reopened by Netanyahu Graft-Pardon Bid

Trump has called for the prime minister to be exonerated from bribery and fraud charges.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his request for a presidential pardon from his graft indictments as a high-minded bid for national healing: The trial has dragged on for years, the country faces existential choices, let’s move on.