Israel bid for new powers against dissident MPs hits trouble

A bill backed by the Israeli premier that would give parliament powers to strip lawmakers of the right to vote on draft legislation has drawn a storm of criticism, including from the president.

The bill is widely seen as targeting the Arab-led bloc after three of its members met the families of Palestinian attackers.

The bloc counts 13 of parliament's 120 members, making it the Knesset's third-largest grouping.

President Reuven Rivlin warned of the potential for abuse.

"A Knesset that is able, even if justly, to today decide upon the cessation of the office of such representatives of the public, will tomorrow unjustly do so to others, and then where will we be?" Rivlin asked.

The conservative president's position is largely ceremonial but the bill has also run into opposition from within the rightwing ruling coalition.
Parliament's legislation committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky said that discussion of the draft, which had been planned for Tuesday, has been postponed because of a lack of consensus within the coalition.

The bill would give parliament the right to strip any lawmaker of the right to vote on draft legislation by a three-quarters majority.

It comes amid anger among hardline Jewish lawmakers over meetings by three Arab members with the families of Palestinians involved in a wave of attacks targeting Israelis since October.

Basel Ghattas, Jamal Zahalka and Hanin Zoabi attended a meeting organised by a Palestinian committee seeking to retrieve the bodies of attackers killed by Israeli security forces.

Since Monday, the three MPs have been barred from taking part in committee meetings or parliamentary debates, but they still have the right to vote on all draft legislation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he planned to continue to push for the legislation.

“There is a difference between democracy and anarchy," Netanyahu told journalists during a visit to Berlin.

"A democracy must defend itself. One should not use democracy to bring about its fall or the fall of the state.”

Over the years, there have been a number of legal actions against Arab members of the Israeli parliament, mainly over visits to, or alleged relations with, Lebanon or Syria, countries still technically at war with the Jewish state.

But they have all entailed the stripping of parliamentary immunity and lengthy legislative and legal procedures.

Netanyahu heads what is widely regarded as Israel's most rightwing government ever and has not been afraid to offend pro-Arab opinion.

But even some of his own supporters in parliament have expressed qualms about the latest draft legislation.

Parliament speaker Yuli Edelstein, who is a member of Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, said on Monday that the bill would "never be tabled as long as I'm speaker." He later qualified his remarks.
Source :AFP