Israeli Knesset Passes Legislation Restricting No. of Consecutive Terms of PM

The Israeli Knesset  (parliament) voted, in a first reading, in favor of a bill that sets an eight-year ceiling for consecutive terms that the prime minister can assume, in a text considered by   opponents  of that bill to be "personal."

Opposition leader and former Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu served as prime minister for a record 15 years, including 12 consecutive years, before he was toppled last June by the current multi-party ruling coalition.

Ahead of the voting session, Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who introduced the bill, said that "continuing power in the hands of one person is bad for democracy."

The text must be approved in three readings to become law.

In the first reading session, 66 of the 120 Knesset members voted in favor of the text.

Miri Regev, a member of the right-wing Likud party led by the former prime minister, considered that "this law is personal and aims to prevent Netanyahu from returning to power against the will of the people."

Netanyahu previously served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999, and he is currently leading in opinion polls, even though the Public Prosecution in  Israel has charged him with bribery, fraud, and treason.