Gideon Sa'ar: Likud MKs back anti-Netanyahu laws

Sa’ar proudly displayed Netanyahu’s signature on a Likud-sponsored bill during the tenure of then-prime minister Ehud Olmert that was aimed at blocking him from making a comeback.

Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar is seen pointing at Benjamin Netanyahu's signature on a Likud-sponsored bill to stop Ehud Olmert from being able to form a government, in the Knesset on July 26, 2021. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar is seen pointing at Benjamin Netanyahu's signature on a Likud-sponsored bill to stop Ehud Olmert from being able to form a government, in the Knesset on July 26, 2021.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
 limiting a prime minister to eight years or two terms in office 
Likud MKs have quietly told Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar they support his bill to prevent opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and others under criminal indictment from serving as prime minister, he told his New Hope faction in the Knesset on Monday.
In the Knesset’s winter session, Sa’ar announced over the weekend, he would pass bills limiting a prime minister to eight years or two terms in office and preventing a candidate under criminal indictment from forming a government.
In the faction meeting, Sa’ar proudly displayed Netanyahu’s signature on a Likud-sponsored bill during the tenure of then-prime minister Ehud Olmert that was aimed at blocking him from making a political comeback before he was convicted.
“There is no reason for this Knesset to not do what the overwhelming majority of citizens want,” Sa’ar said.
In response to charges that the bill was “personal” and aimed at one person, he said: “The bill isn’t personal; the opposition to the bill is what is personal. Everything has been subordinated to the personal interests of one person. Israel cannot be in a similar situation in the future.”
Sa’ar said attacks on him by Likud MKs who have accused him of acting out of revenge against Netanyahu would not stop him from passing the bill. They would only strengthen his resolve, he said.
Asked about complaints about the bill from Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina), Sa’ar said he “does not need to coordinate with every minister” and that he was positive he would pass the bill even if Shaked opposed it.
Blue and White was leaning toward supporting Sa’ar’s bill, Defense Minister Benny Gantz told reporters at his faction’s meeting.