Netanyahu says he’s here to stay, ahead of interrogation

Likud MK David Amsalem submits a proposal to prohibit the investigation of a sitting prime minister for minor crimes.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: JANUARY 2, 2017 03:07
Benjamin Netanyahu (photo credit: REUTERS)
Benjamin Netanyahu
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the opposition not to get too excited about his ongoing investigation Sunday.
“I suggest that the opposition calm down, and send an all-clear siren to the tailors,” Netanyahu said at the opening of a cabinet meeting, referring to suits that MKs would be sewing to wear as ministers.
Still, some in the opposition were critical of Netanyahu’s behavior, saying that he is not being sufficiently cooperative with the investigation.
“The prime minister must stop acting like a victim, attacking the media and law enforcement,” MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) said. “There have been ministers, MKs, prime ministers and a president who broke the law and paid with their seats and their freedom.
“Israelis deserve to live in a country in which the government is clean, in which elected officials don’t break the law,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Knesset Interior Committee chairman David Amsalem (Likud) decided to officially submit his proposal to prohibit the investigation of a sitting prime minister for minor offenses.
“An army has been established to depose the prime minister,” Amsalem said, announcing that he will submit the bill on Monday.
According to Amsalem’s initiative, a premier cannot be probed for offenses that carry a sentence of less than six months in prison, but the prime minister’s term in office will not be counted against the statute of limitations for time in which the offense can be investigated.