Jerusalem, Israel - President Donald Trump on Monday told the Israeli parliament that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate corruption cases, should be pardoned.

Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused in one case of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry, and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.

"Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?" Trump joked, declaring his ally Netanyahu one of Israel's greatest wartime leaders.

"Hey, I have an idea, Mr. President," Trump said, addressing his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, "Why don't you give him a pardon?"

"By the way, that was not in the speech, as you probably know. But I happen to like this gentleman right over here," he added, indicating Netanyahu.

The Israeli prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the three court cases, and his supporters have dismissed the long-running trials as politically motivated.

Besides the gifts affair, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets in two other cases.

During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts.

Those prompted massive protests that were only curtailed by the onset of the war on Gaza.

The Israeli premier is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Trump, a frequent vocal defender of Netanyahu, did not address the international case in his Knesset speech, but Washington has previously condemned the warrant and imposed sanctions on some ICC staff.

In a post published on his social media network Truth Social in June, Trump called Netanyahu's trials a "political witch hunt" that was "very similar to the witch hunt that I was forced to endure."

Trump himself has long accused his political opponents of using the Justice Department to target him during his time out of office.

In his remarks, Trump also said he wanted a peace deal with Iran, after the US joined Israel in striking the Islamic republic's nuclear sites earlier this year.

"They got it from one side, from the other, and you know it would be great if we could make a peace deal with them," Trump said of Iran during a speech to Israel's parliament.

"Would you be happy with that? Wouldn't it be nice, I think. Because I think they want to."

Trump said the ball was in Tehran's court for any agreement to come to pass.

"We're ready when you are," the Republican said.

Trump also defended pulling Washington out of an agreement brokered under ex-president Barack Obama on Iran's nuclear program, long a sticking point in Israel's relations with the country.

"I terminated the Iran nuclear deal and I was very proud to do it," Trump said.

"Yet even to Iran, whose regime has inflicted so much death on the Middle East, the hand of friendship and cooperation is open," he told the Knesset.

"They want to make a deal and we're going to see if we can do something," he added. "Neither the United States nor Israel bear the people of Iran any hostility. We merely want to live in peace."

Trump's address to the Israeli parliament was briefly interrupted as two left-wing lawmakers were expelled.

"That was very efficient," Trump quipped as the MPs were swiftly removed.

The US president had paused as a Knesset staff member audibly ordered the expulsion of lawmaker Ofer Cassif following an apparent protest.

During the session, in which Trump was otherwise warmly received and given multiple standing ovations, Cassif had brandished a sign.

A photo in his post showed a piece of paper emblazoned: "Recognize Palestine!"

"This is the banner I waved in front of Trump at the Knesset and was subsequently removed from the plenum," Cassif posted.

Another leftist, Ayman Odeh, leader of Cassif's Hadash alliance, was also seen brandishing a page of paper and being removed.