Netanyahu requests pardon while facing rift with military leadership and IDF manpower crisis
So spoke Sayyid Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi + other news and updates from Iran
Netanyahu requests pardon while facing rift with military leadership and IDF manpower crisis
Last Sunday, 30th November 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trusts in 3 separate corruption cases, formally submitted a letter requesting a presidential pardon to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, together with a detailed 111-page request prepared by Netanyahu’s attorney, Amit Hadad, who wrote:
Granting this request will allow the prime minister to devote all of his time, abilities, and energy to advancing Israel in these critical times.
…as quoted by Al Mayadeen, which also reported the following confirmation issued by Herzog’s office:
The Office of the President is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications. After receiving all of the relevant opinions, the President will responsibly and sincerely consider the request.
However, interestingly, Netanyahu is neither pleading guilty, nor he is intending to withdraw from political life. One wonders why he is then asking for pardon for something he says he has not done!
Even more interesting is the fact that, according to Israeli law, presidential pardons do not require admission of guilt, a conviction (in fact the corruption trials are still ongoing!), or even remorse to grant, but only if it is deemed to be in the public interest.
Actually, it looks like Netanyahu proposed a political deal or bargain to Herzog, as reported by Al Mayadeen in another article, citing Israel Hayom: presidential pardon in exchange for the cancellation of the controversial judicial reforms and of the legislation aiming at changing the media landscape.
Let’s not forget that US President Donald J. Trump asked Herzog to pardon Bibi during his speech at the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), while in visit to Jerusalem, on 13th October 2025:
One month later, i.e. on 12th November 2025, Trump even sent a letter to Herzog urging him to “fully pardon” Netanyahu:
I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister.
While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System… I believe that this “case” against Bibi… is political, unjustified prosecution.
…as quoted by Al Mayadeen, which also reported the following response from Herzog’s office:
Alongside and not withstanding this... anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.
So here we are: Netanyahu has now formally requested presidential pardon, to which Herzog’s office has responded saying that he…
will take only the interests of Israel and Israelis into consideration
…adding that the pardon application “will be handled with precision and clarity” and that…
violent rhetoric will not deter him from his decision.
…probably fearing or even already feeling pressure from Netanyahu’s allies, who are already attempting to intimidate legal officials such as the Attorney General and top judges, as reported by Al Mayadeen.
Meanwhile, “Netanyahu’s government is dismantling its own institutional machinery”, as per Al Mayadeen, which quoted Attila Somfalvi, a senior political analyst on Channel 13:
What the government is doing is the systematic dismantling of Israeli institutions, weakening them, and turning them into bodies under political influence.
Instead of dealing with security, officials continue to break Israeli institutions into pieces.
Political influence has begun to reach key bodies, including the Israeli army, the Shin Bet, the police, the judicial establishment, the law enforcement authority, and others.
…while the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on a widening rift between political and military leadership and, more specifically, between Netanyahu and his Security Minister Israel Katz on one side and IDF1 Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on the other, with the latter calling for “bold, decisive, and reality-changing leadership” and highlighting that true leadership requires admitting failure and having “the courage to lead change” during a speech at a ceremony commemorating the first-ever Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, last week (source: Al Mayadeen).
In addition to the above the IDF is facing a serious manpower crisis, as reported by Al Mayadeen, citing an opinion piece on Maariv by retired Israeli general and military analyst Itzhak Brik, according to whom the Israeli army faces its “most difficult situation… since its establishment” due to thousands of officers and non-commissioned officers avoiding service either by refusing call-ups or declining to renew their contracts, whereas highly-skilled commanders do not want to continue serving any longer, as confirmed by other Israeli media, such as Yedioth Ahronoth, reporting on hundreds of career troops, including senior officers and experienced non-commissioned officers, filing for early retirement.
Brik blamed the Personnel Directorate, for all aspects of human resources management within the IDF, for this situation, due to its application of outdated methods, “lack of professionalism”, neglecting “critical issues”, severe lack in training of critical personnel, etc.
Without naming him, he also criticized Major General Dado Bar Kalifa, head of the Personnel Directorate, for concealing information, thus creating a situation that…
prevents root causes from being addressed and paralyzes the ability to present the serious situation as it is to the political and security echelons.
Personal pride outweighs professional truth.
He also indicated “a complete breakdown of command discipline inside the Israeli military”, with internal supervision mechanisms, which were already dysfunctional before Operation al-Aqsa Flood on 7th October 2023, getting even worse afterwards, stating that the deterioration has come to the point where…
officers do not carry out the commander’s instructions and ignore superiors, not accidentally, but out of the clear knowledge that they will not be criticized or punished.
A culture of lawlessness completely disrupts the ability to carry out tasks as part of a managed systemic plan.
I wonder if this is the reason why Netanyahu accepted Trump’s “peace” plan, even though the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is still ongoing (here the last Al Mayadeen report on the latest “ceasefire” violations by the IDF)!
News and updates from Iran
Moving to Iran, its military leadership keeps issuing stark warnings to the enemy. Here is the latest one from Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, senior spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), as quoted yesterday (Monday 1st December 2025) by Tasnim and Mehr news agencies:
The enemy has neither a new objective nor the capability to repeat its mistakes.
Should it commit any new mischief or launch any aggression, it will receive a harsher response, and there is no doubt about that.
[Referring to the 12-day war in June (2025)] The recent battlefield served as a yardstick that fully exposed the enemy’s weaknesses.
Our capabilities are far greater than before the recent war.
It is also worth mentioning that, after multiple hearings examining the complaint of 607 families of “martyrs and veterans” of the 2022 riots, Branch 55 of the International Relations Civil Court in Tehran (Iran) issued a verdict ordering the Outlaw US Empire “to pay more than $22 billion in material, moral, and punitive damages over Washington’s ‘material and spiritual support’ for rioters during the unrest of 2022”, as reported by IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) citing Iranian Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir. In particular, the court ordered payment of:
$5.82 billion in material damages and $11.64 billion in moral damages to families who lost relatives,
$187.5 million in material damages and $375 million in moral damages to people who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries,
$30.35 billion in punitive damages “to deter future misconduct”.
I am pretty sure that the Outlaw US Empire will never pay a single penny to Iran. After all, no single Western warmonger has ever paid for his or her war crimes and crimes against humanity, not even former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was recently jailed not for his involvement in the war against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya but only for campaign finance violations (source: RT)!
So spoke Sayyid Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi
Moving to Yemen, it is worth reporting the speech that Ansar Allah leader Sayyid Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi gave last Saturday, 29th November 2025, on the eve of the 58th anniversary of Independence Day (source: Saba - all emphasis mine):
In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Brothers and sisters, peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
I extend to you my warmest congratulations on the occasion of Evacuation Day—“the anniversary of the departure of the last British soldier from Aden” after nearly 128 years of occupation across wide areas of our country, during which the British criminal committed the worst atrocities. One of the biggest enablers of his occupation and control was the negative role of traitors from within the country who facilitated his task at minimal cost and for a long period, offering major services, foremost among them recruiting thousands to fight for him and standing by him to impose his control and oppose anyone who refused to submit.
That era of British domination over broad parts of our country—and over many countries in the Islamic world and beyond—was one of the cruelest in modern human history in terms of crimes, tyranny, and oppression. The Western order, led by Britain, moved to occupy countries and enslave peoples with brutality, greed, and total disregard for human life—killing, starving, spreading disease, and committing genocide against tens of millions.
When nations rose up and revolutionary movements emerged, combined with intense rivalries and wars among Western colonial powers themselves, Britain grew too weak to maintain direct occupation. The Western system then engineered the post-colonial phase across Muslim countries to ensure continued control—through client regimes and sectarian and cultural forces that fragmented the Islamic world, prevented Islamic governance, obstructed unity, and blocked any real renaissance capable of building a powerful, independent, self-sufficient Islamic nation.
It also seized control of education, media, and culture to keep the Ummah submissive, dependent, and loyal to its enemies, while empowering Zionism to occupy Palestine as a precursor to establishing “Greater Israel,” expanding control across the region, and acting as the Western proxy—under U.S. leadership that inherited Britain’s role as the global enforcer of subjugation.
What we see today—from Zionist aggression partnered with the U.S. and Britain and supported by Western powers—is a continuation of that criminal colonial doctrine. The Western-Zionist system has exposed itself through its entities: the Zionist enemy, its American partner, its British partner, and its Western supporters, through horrific crimes committed against the Palestinian people over the past two years, the attacks on Lebanon, ongoing aggressions in Syria, and crimes against Yemen.
The Israeli enemy continues its crimes in Palestine and Lebanon, disregarding ceasefire agreements and guarantees, relying on US backing to pursue full occupation of Gaza, the displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, the domination of Lebanon, and expanded control in Syria up to the outskirts of Damascus—steps toward the project known as “Greater Israel”. This comes alongside American, British, and client-state efforts to eliminate any obstacle to reshaping the Middle East in a way that hands over the entire region to Zionist domination—economically, politically, and strategically.
This is the root of their hostility toward the free peoples of our Ummah who refuse submission. The enemies are preparing for another round of aggression targeting the free nations and living forces of the region, and it is our duty to prepare on all levels to confront their tyranny and plots.
Our dear people—along with all national institutions and the armed forces—have had the honor of taking a historic and principled stand in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and have stood firm on the global stage by confronting American, British, and Israeli aggression. The continued vigilance, mobilization, Friday rallies, major tribal gatherings, and military and security preparedness are essential components of this position and proof of wisdom, responsibility, and faith.
Our people, rooted in the dignity of faith and carrying the banner of Islam and Jihad—as did their righteous ancestors, the Ansar and pioneers—are steadfast and present in their duty. They do not abandon their struggle, retreat from their principles, or submit to the criminals of Zionism. They understand that submission means humiliation, enslavement, and loss in this life and the next. A faithful nation will never accept subjugation to tyrants.
I call on our dear people to attend tomorrow at Al-Sabeen Square, Sunday afternoon, God willing, with massive, dignified, million-strong participation—showing the world their steadfastness and readiness for the coming stage, their refusal to abandon their Ummah, and their trust in God and His promise of the end of the temporary Zionist entity. Indeed, the final outcome belongs to the righteous.
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
I will conclude this article with the following caricature from Saba captioned “Trump, the oil thief”:
Your support is invaluable. If you enjoy my articles, please consider a monthly/yearly pledge to support my work or leave a tip for my efforts here: https://ko-fi.com/ismaele85415
Israel “Defense” Forces
Netanyahu is unquestionably guity of committing massive genocide. It never would have happened if Trump and congress did not fund it. Does this not make them at least as guilty? The Nuremberg Code says: "yes."
Satanyahu's request for pardon is an admission of guilt of his corruption and fraud crimes, no matter how the narrative is spun.
But that does not change the fact that the genocide continues, now even with full carte blanche from the UNSC.