Yuli Edelstein
Yuli EdelsteinEsti Desiubov/TPS

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who is currently abroad, will return to Israel on Thursday and will meet on Sunday with the chair of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, MK Avi Nissenkorn (Blue and White).

The meeting will also be attended by the Knesset's legal adviser, Eyal Yinon.

The two will discuss the demands of the Blue and White party to set up a Knesset House Committee to discuss Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's request for immunity.

Under Israeli law, an MK facing indictment has 30 days from the time the list of charges is sent from the Attorney General to the Knesset Speaker to request immunity. If immunity is requested, the Knesset’s House Committee must decide whether to grant immunity, conducting hearings with the MK in question and the Attorney General.

If the House Committee votes to approve the request, the Knesset plenum votes on whether to ratify the request.

However, the procedure creates special difficulties in the current situation, as no House Committee has been formed for the 22nd Knesset, which dissolved several weeks ago after no candidate was able to form a new government, leaving the hold-over caretaker government from the 20th Knesset.

News of the meeting between Edelstein and Nissenkorn came after Edelstein’s office made it clear that Nissenkorn's request to convene the Arrangements Committee as early as Thursday must be discussed in an orderly procedure.

The Arrangements Committee, which deals with procedural parliamentary issues such as the makeup of other committees, can only convene following approval by the Knesset Speaker.

Blue and White was outraged by Edelstein’s actions accused the Knesset Speaker of seeking to delay a discussion on Netanyahu’s immunity until after the March 2 election.

"Edelstein's response is a shameful attempt to prevent the Knesset from discussing Netanyahu's request for immunity. We did not believe that the Knesset Speaker would take advantage of his status to turn the Knesset into a sanctuary city," the party charged.