Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said if he were elected, he would immediately pass a law that would limit the prime minister to serving two terms in office, or a maximum of eight years, depending on whichever is longer.
Bennett’s political party, titled Bennett 2026, is registered for the elections scheduled for October 2026. His office stated that agreement to the law would be included in coalition agreements and a condition for joining the government.
His office also said that the law proposal would be “brought for approval by the next government in its very first meeting,” and that it is part of “the stabilization plan for Israel that Bennett is currently formulating.”
Bennett stated that the law was necessary because “an overly long tenure leads to moral erosion, corruption, and detachment from the public.”
“Limiting the prime minister’s tenure to eight years will ensure healthy leadership that is focused solely on the good of the state,” he added.
“This is an essential and urgent reform for the political system, alongside the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre,” which Bennett said would also be brought for approval in the first new government meeting and would be another condition for joining the government.
Upon the announcement, Bennett published an outline of the proposal for the law.
The proposal states that the law would not apply retroactively and would take effect from the day it is passed in the Knesset.
It also says that a term would be considered consecutive even if the prime minister temporarily steps down due to incapacity, or if less than four years pass between terms.
The prime minister would only be able to run again after the passage of eight years, referred to as a “cooling off period” in the proposal.
Additionally, the proposal states that if the prime minister were to reach maximum tenure during a term, he would be permitted to complete the full term until a new government is formed.
A second attempt
A similar bill aimed at limiting the term of the prime minister in office was attempted to be passed in the Knesset in 2021.
It passed almost every single reading in the Knesset plenum. However, it did not become law because it expired in 2022 before completing the final necessary readings.
Blue and White head MK Benny Gantz responded to Bennett’s announcement, stating that he was the first to submit a bill on limiting the prime minister’s tenure.
“Unfortunately, then-prime minister Naftali Bennett opposed it, and therefore we were unable to advance it. I brought it up again for a vote this past July, and the current coalition struck it down, even though it was not retroactive,” Gantz stated.
“I welcome Bennett’s change of heart,” Gantz continued, adding that the lesson to be learned was that “such a law can only pass in a broad consensus government that anchors the rules of the game, not in a narrow government lacking public legitimacy.”