Posted on 02/08/22
| News Source: i24
The Likud Party, headed by Netanyahu, denounces the proposed bill
Israel's Knesset advanced a bill for final approval on Tuesday that would limit the country's prime ministers to eight years in office.
The bill will return to the Knesset for its second and third reading to be passed into law after winning the support of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar is pushing the proposal, inspired by opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu served as prime minister for a total of 15 years, the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history.
“Limiting terms instead of unlimited terms,” Sa’ar tweeted after Tuesday’s committee vote.
The proposed bill would mean a prime minister must step down after eight consecutive years in power, requiring the formation of a new government.
The Likud Party, headed by Netanyahu, denounces the proposed bill as an effort to prevent him from regaining leadership. However, the eight-term limit would not apply retroactively, meaning Netanyahu could return to power.
Sa'ar is also working on a bill that would rule out anyone indicted for a crime that comes with a minimum three-year sentence and moral turpitude as being the country's leader, which would apply to Netanyahu, who's currently on trial for corruption charges. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.