Coalition chairman David Amsalem lodged a bill on Wednesday that would significantly scale back the ability of prosecutors to appeal court rulings, notably in corruption cases.
The bill would set a blanket ban on prosecutorial appeals in cases where the charges carry sentences of under 10 years’ imprisonment.
The proposed legislation was reportedly criticized by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan, and was slammed by critics as yet another proposal submitted by a Benjamin Netanyahu loyalist that aims to shield the prime minister from future criminal charges.
In the proposal, Amsalem argued there was an inherent imbalance of power between the defendants in criminal cases and prosecutors, with the latter having an unfair advantage in the court system. Blocking prosecutors from appealing court verdicts would redress that imbalance, he said.
“This bill proposes that the right to appeal a judgment in a criminal matter be given only to the defendant,” the legislation read, saying the prosecution should be given that right only in “serious offenses.”
The proposal has been coined the “bribery bill,” as bribery, along with fraud and breach of trust, is included among the charges that prosecutors would largely be blocked from appealing.
Amsalem was also the mastermind behind the so-called police recommendations law, which successfully passed through the Knesset despite an outcry and blocks police from publishing their non-binding indictment recommendations upon wrapping up their investigations into public officials. The new law only applies to new cases, however, and therefore did not extend to cases already open against the premier.
He is also the author of the so-called “French bill” granting immunity to serving prime ministers from corruption investigations until their terms are ended. That bill has been shelved indefinitely.
Sources in the attorney general’s office and the state prosecution told Hadashot news both were opposed to the prosecutor appeal bill. One official described the bill as “part of an ongoing scheme to try and limit the tools to combat corruption.”
The sources in the state prosecution further noted to the TV channel that prosecutors rarely appeal anyway, citing 2017 figures in which just 7 percent of cases came to an appeal by the prosecution.
Opposition lawmakers also swiftly lambasted the legislation.
“The obsessive preoccupation of the coalition with law enforcement, in order to save the head of the prime minister, who is immersed in investigations, is a mark of Cain on Israel’s democracy,” said Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg. “For this political goal, they are willing to pass a law that would limit the prosecution from appealing on serious charges like s3xual harassment.”
Opposition lawmaker Karine Elharrar of the Yesh Atid party said the new bill was designed to protect Netanyahu, noting the three corruption investigations into the premier.
“Another personal law that is intended to serve the prime minister,” Elharrar said. “It is regrettable that instead of thinking of legislation to regulate the rights of the general public, it appears they are working very hard in order to create laws that benefit elected officials and Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu in particular. The proposed bill is an embarrassment to the legislature and is lacking all legal logic or public benefit.”
MK David Bitan (Likud), left, and MK Karine Elharar (Yesh Atid) seen in the plenum hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 18, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
In February, police recommended Netanyahu be charged with fraud, bribery and breach of trust in so-called Case 1000 and Case 2000.
The attorney general has yet to make a decision on whether to press charges against the prime minister.
In Case 1000, Netanyahu and his wife are suspected of receiving illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors, amounting to some NIS 1 million ($282,000) worth of cigars and champagne from the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian resort owner James Packer, in return for certain benefits.
Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes that would have seen the prime minister take steps to weaken a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.
Netanyahu has also been questioned in Case 4000, which involves suspicions he advanced regulations benefiting Bezeq telecom’s owner Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for better coverage from Bezeq’s Walla news site.
Amsalem, from the ruling Likud party led by Netanyahu, took over as coalition chair in December after it was revealed that previous whip MK David Bitan was the subject of a police investigation into a suspected wide-reaching corruption scandal.