Netanyahu ‘to request immunity’ this week
Jerusalem Post, Dec 29, 2019

In order to obtain immunity, Netanyahu would need 61 MKs to vote in favor of it, but the request would likely only be voted on once a government is formed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a formal request for immunity from prosecution this week from the Knesset and will give the backing he received in the recent Likud primary, and the size of the right-wing political bloc as the reason why he should be granted it.

According to a report by Channel 12 News on Saturday night, Netanyahu will make the request before Thursday, the last date on which he may request immunity.

The Likud’s response added that seeking immunity was “not an attempt to avoid trial,” since it is a temporary measure designed to allow Netanyahu to serve another term as prime minister.

In order to obtain immunity, Netanyahu would need 61 MKs to vote in favor of it, but the request would likely only be voted on once a government is formed and the permanent Knesset committees established.

The request for immunity will however delay the beginning of Netanyahu’s trial till such time as the Knesset can vote on the request.

If the results of the next election turn our similar to the last two, with the right-wing bloc, not including Yisrael Beytenu, failing to get 61 seats, then it will be difficult for Netanyahu to get his immunity request approved.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman has indicated on several occasions that he and his party would not vote in favor of granting Netanyahu immunity.


https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Netany...his-week-612394

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The request for immunity will however delay the beginning of Netanyahu’s trial till such time as the Knesset can vote on the request.

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Well, he gets 61 "yes" votes for immunity in March or goes for a fourth round of elections. He can stay PM without a Knesset until the end of time.

Netanyahu Seeks Immunity in Graft Cases
New York Times, Jan 1, 2020

Fighting for his future, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday said he was asking Parliament to grant him immunity from prosecution in three graft cases, a rare and contentious step that critics said violated the principle of equality before the law.

<snip>

Under Israel’s immunity law, which was amended in 2005, lawmakers no longer have automatic immunity but must seek it from a parliamentary body known as a House Committee, whose decision must then be ratified by a simple majority in Parliament.

The current, caretaker government has not formed a House Committee, and there may not be one to discuss a request by Mr. Netanyahu for weeks or months after the March election, until a new government can be formed. Court proceedings against Mr. Netanyahu would be frozen until any immunity request could be heard.

It is not clear if Mr. Netanyahu would have a parliamentary majority to grant him immunity. Avigdor Liberman, leader of the right-wing Israel Beiteinu party that used to be allied with Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud, and whose votes Mr. Netanyahu would need, said on Wednesday night that he would not support Mr. Netanyahu’s bid for immunity.

Ms. Navot, the constitutional law expert, said the parliamentary process of granting immunity is quasi-judicial, requiring evidence to back up the arguments of the person requesting it, and takes place under judicial review.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/world...u-immunity.html

FTA

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A former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, resigned in 2008, under pressure from rivals within his own government, even before he was indicted on corruption charges. He was ultimately convicted and went to prison.

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Zionist Union quotes Netanyahu in massive billboard urging him to quit
Poster hanging over Tel Aviv highway cites PM, now accused by police of corruption, telling Olmert to resign under similar circumstances in 2008
Times of Israel, Feb 15, 2018

The Knesset’s largest opposition faction, the Zionist Union, on Thursday targeted motorists in its effort to drive home the message that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign following police recommendations that he be indicted for corruption.

A huge billboard over the main Tel Aviv highway quoted Netanyahu himself, who said in 2008 that “a prime minister who is neck-deep in investigations has no public or moral mandate to make crucial decisions… the right thing to do is for the government to go home.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/zionist-un...ng-him-to-quit/

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It was Olmert's resignation and his successor's inability to form a government after winning the general election that greased the way for Netanyahu to resume the premiership after losing it ten years earlier.