Netanyahu: This is an important day for justice in Israel

PM says harsh sentence for former president Katsav shows "no one above the law"; Livni: Not a happy day when president goes to jail for rape.

By BEN HARTMAN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Netanyahu 311 reuters (photo credit: Reuters)
Netanyahu 311 reuters
(photo credit: Reuters)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday responded to the seven year sentence given to former president Moshe Katsav, saying “This is an important day for justice in Israel.”
"It showed that there is equality before the law and that no one is above the law. It also showed that women are equal and it is forbidden to harm them,” Netanyahu stated.
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He added that the sentence illustrates how different Israel is from it’s surrounding countries, referring to the Jewish state as “a fortress of the rule of law.”
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni on Tuesday said "a day in which a president of Israel goes to jail for rape is not a happy day."
"We cannot take away his presidency after the fact, but we can take away his freedom," Livni stated.
"The president stand above the people from the strength of his status as a symbol," Livni said.
"Along with my distress, I have great hope that Israel is in the process of repairing itself," she added.