The Israeli Knesset is considering legislation that would grant government officials immunity from criminal prosecution, and just so happen to spare Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from three looming corruption indictments.
If the proposed amendment to the Immunity Law passes, elected officials could not be charged with a criminal offense unless the 120-member Knesset and the Knesset House Committee agreed to waive immunity. Should Netanyahu’s Likud Party secure a coalition and outnumber its rivals, the measure could effectively place them above the law for as long as they serve in government.
The legislation reverses existing procedure by which Knesset members can only be granted immunity from prosecution if both the Knesset and House Committee agree to spare them. It applies to any offense committed during or before being voted into the Knesset, and has outraged opponents of the PM.
“Citizens aren’t allowed to steal, but MKs are,” MK Pnina Tamano-Shata from the opposition Blue and White bloc marveled at the opening of a Knesset House Committee meeting. The Blue and White plans to hold a protest on Saturday denouncing the move as a “defense shield for democracy.”
Even in Netanyahu’s own party, not everyone is convinced that making the Knesset above the law is a good idea. “This legislation offers zero benefit and maximum damage,” senior Likud party member Gideon Sa’ar told Israeli Channel 12, while former Likud MK Benny Begin remarked: “Such a phenomenon is called corruption.”