Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and MK Ruhama Avraham
Photo: Gil Yochanan
Date set for Katsav impeachment hearing
Israeli president’s impeachment discussed at Knesset Committee meeting; attorney general announces hearing date set for beginning of May
The Knesset Committee discussed the impeachment of suspended President Moshe Katsav Wednesday, during a meeting attended by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
Mazuz announced at the meeting that Katsav’s hearing would take place on May 2 of this year, following a request by the suspended president’s counsel.
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Mazuz also told the committee that Katsav’s suspension would have to be prolonged.
“The hearing process itself is short, but the decision process is not necessarily short and depends on the testimonies we will hear,” Mazuz said, “There will be a definite need to prolong the suspension period, unless a decision to remove the president from office is made before then.”
The attorney general emphasized that indictments have been dismissed in the past following the hearing process. “It’s not rare that during the hearing process things change,” he said.
Mazuz also criticized the complaint filed by committee members at the beginning of the process, saying that it was not clear, particularly regarding the accusation of “inappropriate behavior”.
Not enough MKs
Mazuz added that by law, the committee could not remove the president from office before he had a chance to respond to the complaint.
The first hour of the meeting was dedicated to addressing procedural questions. MK Michael Eitan (Likud) questioned the hastiness of the proceedings, saying, “Is that how you impeach a president? Wait a few days.”
Committee members permitted MK Colette Avital (Labor-Meimad) to miss the meeting due to another committee’s event, although according to regulations, only those present at all meetings were entitled to vote on the impeachment issue.
The committee’s previous meeting took place following the Knesset’s approval of the impeachment process three weeks ago. According to the procedure, only if 19 out of the 25 committee members support the impeachment, the decision will then be made in the Knesset plenum, where a majority of 90 Knesset members is needed.
According to estimates, at the moment there are not enough MKs both in the committee and in the plenum to support the impeachment.
