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Ben-Gvir to push for dropping Netanyahu charges if elected

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English & Agencies
30 Oct 2022 23:29
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A leaked recording of Israeli zionist extremist Ben-Gvir reveals he aims to push for legislation that would stop corruption trials against former PM Netanyahu

Israeli Zionist extremist Itamar Ben Gvir storming the Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood holding his gun

Israeli news media outlet Ynet obtained a recording of extremist Religious Zionism Party member Itamar Ben-Gvir saying during an event held earlier this month that if he gets elected into the new government, he will push for legislation to end the corruption trial against former Israeli occupation PM Netanyahu.

Itamar Ben-Gvir will demand legislation that will enable the cancellation of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s graft trial, according to a recording of the far-right lawmaker released Sunday.

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His statement came shortly after his political partner, Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich, announced a program of radical legal reforms targeting the Judicial wing that would greatly decrease its authority if enacted.

Ben-Gvir stated that in the case he was elected to be a member of the upcoming government, he will call for passing the "French-Law" legislation, which stipulates that serving Prime Ministers would be immune to Police investigations on corruption charges.

The "Israeli" Likud party, which both Netanyahu and Smotrich are part of, denied immediately that the legal reforms would affect the ongoing trials against the former prime minister.

However, Ben-Gvir said that he would pressure the law to be passed retroactively, affecting even ongoing previous trials, adding, "I believe this will surely pass the High Court’s test. The judges of the High Court, and don’t forget that I am a lawyer, will understand the logic and the purpose [of the law]."

Polls earlier on Friday predicted that former Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be just shy of acquiring a majority in the Knesset in next week's election, highlighting that the occupation's opposition leader would come within a single seat of having a majority in the upcoming election, the fifth in less than four years.

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Netanyahu has pledged that his alliance of right-wingers, ultra-nationalists, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties will win the upcoming vote, but polls show that he may also struggle to rally a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu in late August called for unity among the ranks of far-right Israeli parties, namely extremist Zionist Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party and Betzalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, Israeli media reported at the time.

Smotrich welcomed the call for uniting of far-right Zionist parties. However, Ben-Gvir was not too fond of the statement, as he accused his former political partner, Smotrich, of slowing him down due to his delayed actions. In the meantime, it seems that Ben-Gvir is on board.

Both the extremist Zionists ran together in the 2021 election, and it seemed that their political partnership was over, as their negotiations to submit a joint electoral list in the upcoming November election fell apart. Ben-Gvir has accused Smotrich of "negotiating in bad faith" and not compromising or making any concessions.

The Likud leader's efforts to import ultra-nationalists and far-right-wingers into Knesset have been met with criticism, even from Netanyahu's closest allies. Even the pro-Israeli occupation lobby in the US, AIPAC, which practically never criticizes Israeli politicians, has criticized Netanyahu over his actions.