Israeli opposition politicians on Thursday condemned a new law that would limit the ways a sitting prime minister can be declared unfit for office, and is largely seen by critics as a way to protect Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an ongoing corruption trial.
Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli also said the protest movement in Israel over the government’s contentious set of judicial reforms, and the subsequent warnings coming from Washington, must be a “red light” to Netanyahu.
By a 61-to-47 final vote, the Knesset approved the bill that states that only the prime minister himself or the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the leader unfit. The cabinet vote would then need to be ratified by a super majority in the parliament.
Additionally, “The authority to declare the Prime Minister incapacitated will only belong to the government or the Knesset and will only occur due to physical or mental incapacity,” a Knesset statement said on Thursday.
The bill also prevents the Supreme Court from considering “a request to declare the incapacity of the Prime Minister.”
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