Blue and White number two, former finance minister Yair Lapid, said that if Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) does not allow the Knesset to form a committee to discuss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request for immunity, "there will be consequences.
"The Knesset Speaker does not understand that his job is to represent the entire Knesset, not just Netanyahu," Lapid continued in comments made at Monday's Ynet conference. "The prime minister submitted [his] request for immunity and the committee has to discuss it. The fact that Edelstein is playing tricks is a violation of [the Knesset's] trust on his behalf."Lapid noted that there "will be consequences" if Edelstein appears to be "working as Netanyahu's campaign manager."
Yisrael Beitenu head and former defense minister MK Avigdor Liberman also said his party would "confront" Edelstein should he prevent the formation the committee.He continued by explaining that as long as there is no stable coalition, his party would not let Blue and White pass a motion to replace Edelstein, just as it had stopped the replacement of former General Workers Union head MK Avi Nissenkorn.
"Netanyahu addressed the 22 Knesset requesting that his immunity remain, hence the Knesset should address his request," Liberman told Ynet. "The last thing I want is a confrontation with the speaker, but if there is no choice, we will confront the Knesset speaker.
"I hope we will not have to get to the point of replacing" the speaker, Liberman continued. "It needs to be understood that the Knesset speaker is a national figure and not a partisan function. He is also the president's replacement and has to act accordingly."Liberman said that he hopes that Edelstein does the right thing in his estimation, but if he fails to do so, his party will confront the speaker and even set up a Knesset committee on its own.