Blue and White Bill to Remove Netanyahu Simmers on Knesset Agenda

Despite their agreement on Wednesday evening to restart talks on a unity government, Likud and the Blue and White parties continued to hack away at each other.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu carried on his importunate warnings that Benny Gantz is angling for the premiership with the help of the Arab parties.

“The cat’s out of the bag,” PM Netanyahu declared on Wednesday. “The Islamic Movement and the Joint Arab List are congratulating [Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor] Liberman for his decision to abstain from voting on the formation of a leftist minority government, which will be created with the support of the Arab parties.”

Meanwhile, Blue and White has sponsored legislation in the Knesset which aims to remove Netanyahu from power upon the filing of a formal indictment. Until now, the law would not require a prime minister to resign unless he were convicted of a crime.

If the bill were to gain passage, it could apply to Netanyahu, who may be indicted in mid-November on possible charges of breach of trust, fraud and bribery. Blue and White has said publicly that it will not sit with Netanyahu as long as he has a recommended or actual indictment against him, though party sources have indicated that Gantz would be willing to enter a rotation for the premiership under certain circumstances, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The bill’s explanatory portion says that allowing a prime minister to continue in office while fighting serious corruption charges “is in total contradiction of the necessary moral norms for an elected official.”

This situation “has implications for the prime minister’s status and that of the entire government, its ability to lead and serve as an example to the entire public – and, most importantly, regarding the public’s trust in the system of government.

“A prime minister serving while dealing with an indictment could mix national and personal interests,” the bill states.

“The minute we can pass [the law], we’ll pass it,” a Blue and White’s spokesman said on Wednesday.

A second bill that could dampen enthusiasm for unity talks would disqualify anyone convicted of a crime carrying moral turpitude from becoming a prime minister, regular minister, deputy minister or mayor.

A third Blue and White legislative proposal, inspired by a decade of Netanyahu as prime minister (plus 3 years before this), would set term limits for a prime minister, either two terms or up to eight years.