Netanyahu's party submits bill limiting powers to remove him as PM

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Israel’s ruling party is seeking to drastically limit the grounds for the disqualification of a serving prime minister, in a move which opposition parties and figures are calling an assault on the country’s democracy.

In the proposed bill, which attempts to amend the ‘Basic Law: The Government’, only the prime minister himself or his cabinet – with a 75 per cent majority – would be able to declare the premier unfit for office, and only for reasons regarding their physical or mental health which classify them as “incapacitated”.

“In rare circumstances where a declaration is made against the prime minister’s will, the Knesset Speaker will bring the decision to Parliament, which can approve the disqualification with a majority of 90 Knesset members”, the proposal reads. If passed and implemented, it would overrule the current system of the Attorney General being able to declare a prime minister unfit for office.

Yesterday’s proposed bill comes after reports last month surfaced claiming that Israel’s Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, was indeed considering forcing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to step down from office for violating his 2020 conflict of interest agreement, which prohibits him from involvement in legislation impacting the ongoing legal proceedings against him – including three corruption cases on charges of fraud and breach of trust, and bribery in one. The Attorney General’s office, however,denied those reports.

Israel’s High Court of Justice then reviewed a petition earlier this month by The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which seeks to declare Netanyahu unfit for office on the grounds of his breach of the 2020 agreement and his new government’s efforts to radically overhaul the country’s judiciary by allowing the Knesset to re-legislate laws if the High Court strikes them down, as well as by giving the government control over judicial appointments.

READ: Netanyahu’s six lies in one interview

The ruling Likud party has subsequently expressed outrage at the alleged attempts to oust Netanyahu, with the party’s MK Ofir Katz – who sponsored the bill – stressing the seriousness of removing a publicly elected leader. “It cannot be allowed in a democratic state for a legal opinion that has no basis in the law to lead to an effective coup,” he said. “A dramatic move like forcibly removing a serving and functioning prime minister must be determined by the people’s representatives alone, without the involvement of an unelected body.”

Tally Gotliv, another Likud MK, accused the Attorney General of preventing Netanyahu from carrying out his duties through “overt and covert threats”, insisting that “Urgent action must be taken to advance this bill for the sake of a stable right-wing government”.

Netanyahu and the Likud party’s manoeuvres, part of efforts to rein in Israel’s judiciary and solidify the new government and its far-right coalition’s hold on power, has sparked public protests 100,000 strong, as well as internal political opposition, with the Justice Minister reportedly threatening to resign and dissolve government over the reform plans.

Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party, accused the ruling coalition of proposing the bill as a distraction from the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, stating that “Instead of sitting and talking, Netanyahu and his people continue to plant roadside bombs against democracy in Israel. He and his coalition’s attempts to stir and ignite a conversation about a disqualification that isn’t even on the table at the moment reinforces their goal of preventing dialogue”.

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