Likud battle against Knesset legal adviser intensifies

Eyal Yinon vows not to "surrender to terror."

By GIL HOFFMAN
Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest outside Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel November 22, 2019. The placards in Hebrew read, "Strong in security, strong in Economy " (photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS)
Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest outside Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel November 22, 2019. The placards in Hebrew read, "Strong in security, strong in Economy "
(photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS)
The Likud on Monday accused the legal adviser of the Knesset, attorney Eyal Yinon, of committing a crime by continuing to deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for immunity despite a potential conflict of interest.
Yinon denied reports on Monday that he had agreed to disqualify himself from dealing with the immunity request because his wife, attorney Amit Marari, works for the Justice Ministry and dealt with Netanyahu’s cases under State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan. Marari had signed a conflict-of-interest form saying she and Yinon would never deal with the same case.
The Likud said it was unfair that Marari was involved in indicting Netanyahu, and now Yinon was harming his chance of obtaining immunity.
“What they are doing to me is terrorism, and I will not surrender to terrorism,” Channel 13 quoted Yinon as telling confidants.
After Army Radio commentator Yaakov Bardugo pointed out the potential conflict, the Likud asked Yinon to excuse himself. While reports originally said he had agreed and admitted he should not have dealt with Netanyahu’s case in the first place, he later issued a denial that he was disqualifying himself.
In the denial, Yinon wrote that if there will be deliberations about Netanyahu’s immunity request, then he would disqualify himself. But he saw no conflict of interest in the procedural matters of what committee can deal with the issue.
“The Knesset legal adviser has adhered to a strict agreement regarding conflicts of interest throughout the years in which he and his partner have had parallel roles,” a Knesset spokesman said.
Yinon ruled on Sunday that a Knesset House Committee could be formed to deal with Netanyahu’s request for immunity from prosecution in his criminal cases. In the ruling, Yinon said the legislators of the Immunity Law wrote that immunity requests must be dealt with as soon as possible, so the House Committee could be established, even though it is normally only formed after a government is sworn in.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein asked Yinon for anther ruling about whether he, as Knesset speaker, could block the committee from being formed. Edelstein is under pressure from the Likud to prevent the House Committee from being formed and from Yisrael Beytenu and Blue and White to allow it.
“I don’t want a conflict with the Knesset speaker, but if there is no choice, I will fight the speaker,” Liberman told the Yediot Aharonot newspaper’s conference on Monday.
Likud officials have warned that Edelstein’s hopes for becoming president could be dashed if he enables prosecuting Netanyahu. Likud faction chairman Miki Zohar on Monday said Yinon should cancel Sunday’s ruling that the House Committee could be formed to deal with Netanyahu’s immunity.