17 Jan 2019; MEMO: Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein is expected to announce a date at the beginning of next week for the plenum “to convene to pass the final proposal necessary to ensure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity will be removed”, reported The Jerusalem Post.
As the paper reports, “there is a majority for removing Netanyahu’s immunity in the Knesset plenum and there will also be in the House Committee that will legislate the rejection of his request for immunity from prosecution in his criminal cases”.
Normally, such a House Committee is only established after the formation of a government, but on Monday, the Knesset Arrangements Committee passed a proposal to create one regardless.
This decision must be approved by the Knesset plenum, a vote which Blue and White is seeking to have convened as soon as possible, and which Netanyahu is looking to prevent or delay.
According to The Jerusalem Post, “the House Committee will vote to reject Netanyahu’s immunity after some three weeks of deliberations”.
Once the vote to reject immunity has taken place, Netanyahu’s indictment will be filed at the Jerusalem District Court but will not actually begin for several more months. At the point the indictment is filed, Netanyahu can no longer request immunity from the next Knesset.
On Thursday, Netanyahu revealed that he was formally joining the Likud party’s petition to the Supreme Court against Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon’s decision allowing the House Committee to be formed, despite the political paralysis.
