The vote on the bill to limit the prime minister’s term to two terms was finally postponed to the next session of the 24th Knesset, in about two months. This is because the coalition does not have 61 MKs who are committed to its transfer. In light of the difficulties, it was made clear to the opposition that it would no longer be committed to offsetting MKs, including Corona patients in the next session with regard to legislation requiring 61.
Under the bill, which was passed with the consent of all coalition members, it was decided that the prime minister could serve only 8 consecutive years or go on a three-year cooling-off period between terms.
In view of the coalition’s desire to have a set-off arrangement with the opposition as agreed for this session, Justice Minister Gideon Saar will bring a proposal to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation to withdraw from the bill to limit tenure. Although the bill was passed in second reading by the Knesset plenum last week, in accordance with Article 95 of the Knesset Rules of Procedure.
But the government will be able to withdraw from the return, and it intends to do so, and bring the bill to a vote from where it was stopped, ie for the third reading, within one to three weeks from the date of the return. It should be noted that vacation days do not count and are not counted.
Due to the difficulty created around the offsetting arrangements, the coalition made it clear to the opposition that in the next session offsetting arrangements (including Corona patients) would not be included in the bills requiring a majority of 61 MKs. This is a serious step that will mean that the opposition will not be offset even in proposals that require a simple majority, and of course will not offset corona patients on the part of the coalition.
As you may recall, this is the second time the law has been rejected after last week Justice Minister Gideon stormed the law off the agenda and ordered a postponement of the vote this week. This is because the coalition did not have a majority of 61 MKs that required his transfer, and due to the fact that the opposition turned the vote into a no-confidence motion.
A few months ago Saar decided to change strategy and not bring his flagship law to limit terms in line with the law prohibiting a defendant under an indictment from serving as prime minister. A move made with the thought that while the first is in the coalition agreements between the parties, the second law has no coalition agreements, so it is better to have one bird in hand than two over the tree. However, the first law also encountered difficulties and the heavy pressure to pass it did not succeed due to the lack of a majority, which led to its rejection.
Opposition leader Netanyahu has announced the repeal of the law on the day he returns to power. The public has the right to decide who will lead it. “
“It will not help them,” he added. “We will replace the government and repeal all their anti-democratic laws and return Israel to an aggressive and solid policy that will secure its future.”