The Knesset House Committee voted on Tuesday to grant immunity to MK Haim Katz (Likud) after two days of deliberations.
The committee decided to give Katz immunity from prosecution for fraud and breach of trust by a majority of 16 supporters against 10 opponents and four abstentions.
In addition, there were votes on two other grounds for requesting immunity: 16 opposed the first one, four supported it and 10 abstained. On the second, 17 MKs supported immunity, 12 opposed and one abstained.
The decision requires the approval of the Knesset plenum and is valid only for the 22nd Knesset, meaning that Katz may have to go through the entire process again after the March 2 election.
Since 2005, when the law was changed, the Knesset House Committee has discussed only two Knesset members' request for immunity from criminal prosecution: MK Katz and MK Said Nafaa whose request was rejected.
Previously, there were only two cases in which the committee granted immunity to a Knesset member contrary to the request of the Attorney General: MK Shlomo Lorincz in the 2nd Knesset and MK Avigdor Liberman in the 15th Knesset.
Katz told Kan 11 News in response to the approval of the immunity, "I didn't expect otherwise because I didn't commit an offense."