In his address to the Israel Bar Association convention in Eilat on Monday, Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit stated the immunity bill being pushed by the coalition is “irrelevant and baseless”.

The bill would provide a legal shield against indictments for MKs and ministers, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The case in favor of the bill states that an elected official cannot face indictment for as long as he serves in office unless he agrees to drop his political immunity. Hence, the person may continue serving the public without having to address a criminal indictment while in office.

Mandelblit referred to the immunity law on Monday: “All the decisions in the prime minister’s cases have been accepted in a professional and matter-of-fact manner, and the claim that an amendment to the immunity law is required to protect the prime minister is irrelevant and baseless.”

“Recently, a claim was made that MKs seem to need to change the Immunity Law in order to protect themselves, and in order to deal with the pressures that are pressing me to indict the prime minister,” Mandelblit added, stating this is not the truth.

“These things join a wave of unfortunate statements in the public and media arenas that seek to undermine the legitimacy of our decisions, and they label us with political slogans.

“We walk a straight path” he continued, adding once again, “No pressure has affected us, and we serve no one except the public interest and the rule of law.

“It is hard not to be impressed that the attempt to protect the prime minister from irrelevant decisions is not the real goal that underlies the intention to promote the amendment to the Immunity Law or any other legislation designed to change the existing legal situation in this context…”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)