Knesset debating first reading of bill to shield Netanyahu from recusal
The Knesset is debating a government-backed bill to prevent the High Court of Justice from having the power to suspend the prime minister from office.
Sponsored by Likud’s faction director, MK Ofir Katz, the bill is widely seen as a reaction to a decision by the High Court last month to hear a petition demanding that the court compel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a leave of absence from office, owing to his ostensible conflict of interests in presiding over far-reaching legal and judicial reforms while he is himself on trial for alleged corruption.
Netanyahu has signed a conflict of interest agreement barring him from dealing with matters that could affect the outcome of his trial.
The bill is widely expected to pass its first reading.
