MK Avi Nissenkorn (Blue and White), who chairs the Knesset Arrangements Committee, has summoned the members of the committee to a discussion on Monday morning at 11:00 a.m.
The discussion will mark the start of the efforts to establish a Knesset House Committee which will vote on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's request for immunity from prosecution on pending corruption charges.
Kan 11 News reported that the purpose of Monday’s meeting would be to cancel the decision which stated that the Knesset Speaker needs to approve any future discussions of the committee that are scheduled for the Knesset’s election recess.
The goal is to try to prevent Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein from further interrupting the promotion of immunity hearings in the Knesset and denying him the authority to intervene in the deliberations.
The meeting was announced hours after the Knesset’s legal advisor, Eyal Yinon, said in a legal opinion that the Knesset Speaker cannot block the formation of a Knesset committee needed to rule on Netanyahu’s request for parliamentary immunity during a caretaker government prior to the upcoming Knesset election.
Yinon penned the opinion after the Supreme Court rejected a petition from the Likud to bar the Knesset legal advisor from publicizing his position on the question.
In his legal opinion Sunday, Yinon argued that despite the Speaker’s veto power during a caretaker government, he is unable to prevent the Knesset’s Arrangements Committee from convening to vote on the formation of permanent Knesset committees, including the House Committee.
The House Committee, which was not formed in either the 21st or 22nd Knessets after both failed to establish a new government, was last formed for the 20th Knesset, which was replaced in April. The House Committee is charged with evaluating requests for parliamentary immunity, such as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent request.
The failure of the Knesset to form a House Committee for the 22nd Knesset, however, has thus far left Netanyahu’s immunity request in limbo.
Netanyahu and his allies, including the Knesset Speaker, have sought to delay a Knesset vote on the immunity request until the next Knesset is sworn in, while the Blue and White party has called for an immediate vote on the request.
Edelstein convened a press conference after the legal opinion of Yinon was made public, in which he said that "convening the Knesset House Committee at this time would be a serious mistake."
"Such an important procedure, a kind of judicial process, must not become a stage for improper election propaganda. We are just weeks away from the elections. Everyone knows that during such a period, the Knesset will become a jungle that will disrespect the legislature. I can guarantee that if we put in cameras like in a reality show, the ratings will be sky high. What I cannot guarantee is a fair and proper process. Regardless of the identity of the person requesting immunity, he deserves due process, the Knesset deserves due process, we, the citizens of Israel, deserve due process," he said.
Responding to Yinon’s legal opinion, Edelstein said, "I must say with regret that I disagree with the position of the Knesset Legal Adviser. As far as I am concerned - I will not allow the Knesset to become an arena for cheap election propaganda by any faction in the Knesset.”