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‘Israeli’ MKs to Pass ‘Netanyahu Bill’ Banning Police from Publicizing Corruption Probe Results

‘Israeli’ MKs to Pass ‘Netanyahu Bill’ Banning Police from Publicizing Corruption Probe Results
folder_openZionist Entity access_time6 years ago
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Local Editor

‘Israeli' Members of the Knesset backed a law to prevent police from publishing recommendations on whether to charge criminal suspects, with those allowing leaks facing jail.

‘Israeli’ MKs to Pass ‘Netanyahu Bill’ Banning Police from Publicizing Corruption Probe Results

Meanwhile, Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently being investigated over graft, may be the main beneficiary.

The bill, which would curb the powers of police to consult with the federal attorney over pressing charges in individual cases, was passed by ‘Israeli' MKs in its first reading late Monday.

The bill is expected to be streamlined through the Zionist parliament, the Knesset, by the ruling coalition, but it has been blasted by the opposition as being tailored to the needs of Netanyahu, currently facing two separate corruption investigations.

"They made sure that this law would apply to the Netanyahu investigations," said Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition Yesh Atid party, as cited by The Times of ‘Israel.'
"It's a law made for a single person," he said.

Yesh Atid is regarded as the main rival to Netanyahu's Likud party, should snap elections be held. A recent poll by ‘Israel's' Channel 10 found that both parties are projected to gain 24 parliamentary seats in case the elections take place immediately.

The proposed legislation, nicknamed by the opposition "the Netanyahu bill," will see police withholding conclusions they present for the attorney general from public in existing cases, meaning that this clause will also apply to Netanyahu and his two longstanding, separate graft probes. The bill envisions severe penalties of up to a year behind bars for any official, including a police officer or a prosecutor, for disclosing the police's recommendations.

As far as new cases are concerned, the attorney general will be barred from having consultations with police on whether to press charges altogether.

Police have begun grilling Netanyahu on two suspected cases of corruption since January, the last time on November 19, when he endured a more than a four-hour interrogation in his residence. It was the sixth time Netanyahu Minister has been questioned by police about accepting gifts, such as expensive wine and cigarettes from his billionaire acquaintance Arnon Milchan and an alleged intention to strike a deal with the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper for favorable coverage.

Netanyahu denied all the allegations, and insisted that Milchan, an ‘Israeli'-American movie producer, was his best friend and that the sums equivalent to the gifts he received, estimated at $100,000-150,000 in the police reports leaked to the media, are greatly exaggerated.

It was reported that in return for Milchan's generosity, Netanyahu allegedly repeatedly asked the then US Secretary of State John Kerry to provide a long-term US visa for the producer. While Netanyahu reportedly acknowledged the request, he denied that it had been connected to the pricey gifts he was showered with by the Milchan family.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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