Likud: Bill to shield PM from investigations won’t apply to current inquiries

Likud responds to growing criticism of a bill by MK Dudi Amsalem that would shield a serving prime minister — in the last three governments, hailing from Likud — from investigations into any alleged crimes that carry a prison sentence shorter than six months.

The bill comes as Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is looking into allegations of financial improprieties said to be linked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement Tuesday, a party spokesman says, “The bill proposed by MK Amsalem was not done in coordination with the prime minister, and was proposed without his knowledge. In any case, legislation is never retroactive, and it goes without saying that the [bill’s stipulations] would not apply to any inquiries already underway.”

Whether this is correct remains unclear, as a law could apply to a case whose indictments are filed after its passage.