Netanyahu associate proposes bill granting PM immunity
The problem with Knesset member David Amsalem's proposed legislation to prevent the interrogation of a sitting prime minister is the timing, its personal component and the fact that it could benefit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign.
Last January, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation delayed its decision about a proposed law submitted by Likud Knesset member David Amsalem, which would have banned criminal investigations into a sitting prime minister.
At the time, the investigations into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were beginning to gain momentum. In explaining his proposed new law, Amsalem, who was the chairman of the Knesset's Interior Committee, explained that his law was necessary to ensure that a sitting prime minister could carry out his responsibilities without interference. To anyone who claimed that he was acting on behalf of the prime minister himself, Amsalem swore that the initiative was his alone and that in any event, it could not be implemented retroactively. In other words, Netanyahu would not benefit from it. Despite this, Amsalem could not get a majority to support his legislation and the proposal was shelved — though as we are learning, not for long.
It is now quite clear to everyone that recent developments in the Netanyahu investigations threaten his very ability to continue on as prime minister. On Sept. 6, it also became obvious that Amsalem has no plans to give up.
According to a report on Channel 2, Amsalem is planning to resubmit his proposed law to the Knesset as soon as it returns from its recess in late October. What he is actually proposing is an amendment to the Basic Law of the Government, determining that a criminal investigation cannot be launched against a sitting prime minister if the maximum sentence is less than six months in prison.
