Behind Trump’s crusade to 'save Bibi' from his criminal trial

6 snips

Jul 21, 2025

Bar Peleg, a Haaretz reporter specializing in Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal challenges, discusses the significant interplay between the Israeli Prime Minister's ongoing criminal trials and the Gaza conflict. Peleg reveals how Netanyahu's legal troubles have influenced his policy decisions, impacting Israel's governance during crises. He also highlights the surprising direct involvement of Donald Trump in these legal matters, including calls for a pardon and the ramifications of U.S. interference on investigations like Qatargate. This situation raises questions about the influence of foreign politics on Israeli justice.

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INSIGHT

Netanyahu's Legal Woes Influence Policy

Netanyahu's legal troubles heavily influence his political and military decisions.
His ongoing criminal charges may be prolonging the Gaza war.

INSIGHT

Investigations' Interdependence Delays Trials

The BibiLeaks and Qatar Gate investigations are interlinked and ongoing with delays.
Key trial proceedings are stalled pending outcomes of parallel investigations and hearings.

INSIGHT

Unprecedented U.S. Interference in Israel

Trump's calls to cancel Netanyahu's trial or pardon him are unprecedented U.S. interference.
The U.S. ambassador’s courtroom presence underscores active American involvement.

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If it weren’t for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial and the multiple investigations into payments made by Qatar to his closest aides, the Gaza war could have been over, Bar Peleg, who has been covering Netanyahu’s legal woes, said on the Haaretz Podcast.

In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Peleg laid out the details of the multiple investigations, including BibiLeaks and Qatargate, against the Israeli premier in light of the calls by President Donald Trump that his trial be “cancelled.” Trump has also suggested that Netanyahu should be given a pardon, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s appearance at his trial in a show of support.

A recent exposé by Peleg and Gidi Weitz revealed that the Trump administration is actively intervening in the Qatargate investigation by preventing a key U.S. witness, Qatar lobbyist Jay Footlik, from being questioned by Israel Police. Without Footlik’s testimony, which has now been postponed three times, “the case may well be stuck.”

The active crusade by the Trump administration to “save Bibi Netanyahu,” as the president put it on social media, “is the most interference that we have seen from the United States in Israel in internal matters.”

Peleg said that all evidence points to the fact that Netanyahu’s legal woes have impacted his policy decisions over the past five years, with particularly fateful consequences over the course of the Gaza war.

Israelis “need to know that what their prime minister is doing is what is important for the state – and when we see how Netanyahu is acting regarding the war, we don’t believe fully that he is doing what is good for Israel,” Peleg said.

If Netanyahu was not on trial and facing other potential criminal charges, Peleg said, “maybe this war would have ended.”

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