New Law in Israel Makes Dismissing the Prime Minister Difficult
From now on, it is no longer easy to dismiss the Prime Minister in Israel. According to a new law passed with the vote of 61 parliament members against 47 opposing votes, the Prime Minister can only be removed in the case of physical or mental illness, and even then, only if the Prime Minister himself or three-quarters of the cabinet members make such a decision.
Allegations of financial corruption or personal conflicts of interest with the Prime Minister’s powers and duties are not sufficient for his removal.
This law has been passed by the parliament at a time when there have been longstanding corruption charges against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. With this change in the law, which is part of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms, he intends to prevent the influence of the Supreme Court or the prosecution on his potential dismissal.
This law is the first step in a series of controversial changes that the new religious right-wing government in Israel, led by Netanyahu, has passed in the parliament.