Netanyahu slams bill to limit term of prime minister as ‘Iranian’

Opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu slams legislation that would limit a prime minister to serving only eight years in office.

“The current government is dropping in the polls, and the opposition is rising in the polls,” claims Netanyahu in a speech to a meeting of his Likud faction. “So what do they do? They’re trying to pass an Iranian law that will create a situation whereby someone can win an election — but not oust them.”

Yesterday, ministers backed a bill setting term limits for the position of prime minister, barring a premier from serving for more than eight years. The proposal must now clear three Knesset plenum readings before becoming law.

This kind of law “does not exist in any parliamentary democracy,” adds Netanyahu. “In a democracy, the person who decides who leads is the public, and not some arbitrary law.”