New bill could have Knesset members dismissing colleagues

According to a bill soon to be brought before the plenum, Knesset members would be able to dismiss colleagues who are indicted but choose not to arrive at judicial proceedings against them.

The bill was drafted by Gilad Erdan (Likud) and was catalyzed by the investigation against Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara.

"There may be a situation in which MK Bishara is indicted and he doesn't appear at the judicial proceedings because he is abroad. Then he will, absurdly, remain an MK until the end of his term," Erdan explained.

However, the bill is not targeted solely at Bishara. "The bill is not against Bishara, but against any future MK who will try to weasel out of appearing before the judicial authority. This would be a process that would be rarely engaged, but, sadly, in this day and age, it has become thinkable," he said.

Erdan's proposal contains two parts. In the first part, he suggests that any MK indicted on criminal charges who does not appear at judicial hearings against him will automatically lose his benefits, including his salary.

"The point is to prevent MKs indicted on serious charges to receive benefits at the expense of the public," Erdan said.

The second part of the bill is more active, and would grant Knesset members the authority to dismiss an indicted MK, if he doesn't appear at his judicial proceedings. Such a dismissal would require the signature of 20 MKs on a petition submitted to the attorney general.

If the attorney general recommends dismissal, the petition would then be given to the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, who would need to approve the MK's dismissal by a two-thirds majority.

The decision on dismissal would then need to pass the Knesset plenum, with the approval of at least 80 members.