Netanyahu expected to cry foul in request for immunity

“The inflated list of witnesses looks like a nostalgic nod to the Yellow Pages,” said Netanyahu.

By World Israel News Staff 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to argue that ulterior political motives were behind the move to bring criminal indictments against him and therefore he should be granted parliamentary immunity, reports Mako.

Netanyahu, who also serves as a member of Knesset, has the right to request such immunity if the grounds for his indictment are viewed as related to his service as a parliamentarian.

The news outlet notes that the prime minister has not yet publicly announced whether he will request immunity before a Knesset committee, but says that Netanyahu is hinting strongly that he will, and that his public arguments that there is a campaign to topple him politically through legal means are an indication of the strategy he would employ in justifying immunity.

The site also reports that if the current last-ditch efforts to form a new government fail and Israelis are called upon to vote in yet another Knesset election, Netanyahu might also argue that the large number of his supporters would not be able to vote for the product that his Likud party is selling on election day: namely, a party headed by him.

They would submit a slip with his name on it in the ballot box but would not get their wish, according to this argument.

Netanyahu reportedly has until January 1 to submit a request for immunity.

The prime minister mocked the large number of witnesses – 333 – listed on the official indictment who would testify against him in upcoming legal proceedings.

“The inflated list of witnesses looks like a nostalgic nod to the Yellow Pages,” said Netanyahu.

“When there is a true accusation, you don’t need 333 witnesses, and when there isn’t a true accusation, even 333 witnesses won’t help,” he added.

Benjamin NetanyahuKnesset