Three Italian activists injured by settlers in the West Bank. Netanyahu asks President Herzog for a pardon

Israeli authorities today reopened the Kerem Shalom and Al-Awja crossings with the Gaza Strip to receive truckloads of humanitarian aid from the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side. The Rafah crossing, on the Egyptian side, also opened despite the ongoing violence across the border. This was reported by Egyptian security sources. Five hundred trucks of humanitarian aid were dispatched, including two trucks loaded with gas and fuel destined for Gaza. The Egyptian Red Crescent is delivering approximately 10,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid and over 91,000 items of winter clothing, 5,500 tonnes of food baskets and flour, over 2,800 tonnes of essential medical and relief supplies for the Gaza Strip and over 1,270 tonnes of petroleum products to Gaza. The Egyptian humanitarian mission 'Zad al-Izza' was launched by the Egyptian Red Crescent on 27 July, transporting thousands of tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, flour, milk powder, medical supplies, medicines, personal hygiene items and tons of fuel.

Also on Sunday, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu, on trial for corruption, submitted a formal request for a pardon to President Isaac Herzog. Israeli media report that Netanyahu faces three separate corruption cases, instituted in 2019, which include allegations of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. The trial had begun on 24 May 2020, but was later delayed by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Herzog's response was immediate. The Israeli president let it be known that he will examine the pardon request made by PM Netanyahu 'with responsibility and sincerity, after receiving all relevant opinions'. According to his office, the president says he is "aware that this is an extraordinary request with significant implications".

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had asked for grace from President Isaac Herzog in the corruption trial against him on a matter ofnational interest. "It has been almost ten years since the investigation against me began. The trial on these matters has been ongoing for almost six years and is expected to continue for many more years," he said in a video statement published by Israeli media. Netanyahu explained that his personal interest remains in completing the legal proceedings until he is cleared of all charges, "butsecurity and diplomatic loyalty, i.e. the national interest, dictate otherwise." "Israel," he further said, "is facing enormous challenges, and with them great opportunities. To repel the threats and seize the opportunities, national unity is required,' arguing that the continuation of the process 'tears us apart from within. It increases divisions and deepens rifts". "I am certain, like many others in the nation, that an immediate end to the process would go a long way towards calming the flames and promoting broad reconciliation, something our country desperately needs," he concluded.

Israel's former prime minister Naftali Bennett will support current PM Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a pardon if it is conditional on the latter's withdrawal from politics. "In recent years, the state of Israel has been dragged into chaos and to the brink of a civil war that threatens the very existence of the state," Bennett writes in X. Therefore, "to save Israel from chaos, I will support a binding agreement that includes a respectful withdrawal from political life and an end to the process," he says. "In this way, we can let go, unite and rebuild the state together."

Netanyahu is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for assistance with personal and business interests. This is the first time that an Israeli prime minister has been named as a defendant in a trial that began four years ago: Netanyahu has proclaimed himselfinnocent from the start of the proceedings, branding the charges as "an ocean of nonsense". If convicted, he faces several years in prison.