Blue and White is looking at the possibility of moving to replace Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) if he refuses to move forward on discussions regarding the prime minister’s immunity request, Channel 12 news reports.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday officially filed a request with Edelstein for immunity from prosecution in his three criminal cases. Opposition parties want to discuss the request immediately, despite the Knesset having disbanded in December, with the hope of the plenum rejecting it, thus allowing the premier’s trial to continue.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein gives a press statement in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on November 27, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
But a source close to Netanyahu said earlier that Edelstein will prevent a Knesset discussion weighing the request before the March elections at minimum.
Blue and Whie MK Avi Nissenkorn, who leads the House Committee which would review the immunity request, says: “We have wanted for a long time now to form a House Committee and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein opposes it. When the prime minister asks for immunity we should honor that request and hold a discussion on the matter. The Knesset is not a shelter [from prosecution].”
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