Cabinet approves term limits for Israeli prime ministers

The bill is expected to pass in the Knesset plenum on Monday. It must pass three more times in committee and the plenum to become law.

THE KNESSET building in Jerusalem holds one of the world’s smallest legislatures. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
THE KNESSET building in Jerusalem holds one of the world’s smallest legislatures.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s cabinet voted on Sunday to approve Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s bill that would prevent a prime minister from serving more than eight years.

The bill is expected to pass in the Knesset plenum on Monday. It must pass three more times in committee and the plenum to become law.

All of the parties in the coalition support the bill. But they continue to fight over other issues.

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted on Sunday to approve a controversial bill extending the Interior Ministry’s power to take action against migrant workers for four more years.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked pushed for the bill. But Labor and Meretz ministers voted against it.

Meretz minister Tamar Zandberg said the bill was “draconian,” and Meretz MK Mossi Raz called it cruel to migrant workers.

 Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked is seen speaking at the Jerusalem Post annual conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2021. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked is seen speaking at the Jerusalem Post annual conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2021. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

Despite a dispute between the coalition and opposition, Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy continued efforts to form a Knesset Ethics Committee on Sunday.

He invited MKs Ofir Katz (Likud) and Michal Waldiger (Religious Zionist Party) to join the committee after other opposition MKs turned him down. But they both rejected the appointment.

Levy’s legal adviser is drafting a bill that would let him appoint former MKs to the committee.

“I will continue to try to build the committee in order to enable the Knesset to function properly,” Levy said.