Cabinet ministers on Sunday approved by phone draft legislation seeking to limit the prime minister's term in office to eight years.
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The bill was a major campaign promise for the Center-Left parties and was inspired by now-Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu's long term in office. The former prime minister served in office for a total of 15 years, 12 of them consecutively, making him the longest-serving Israeli prime minister in history.
The legislation is expected to face its first Knesset reading later this week. It must clear three Knesset plenary readings before it becomes law.
The proposed amendment to Israel's semi-constitutional basic laws would force a prime minister to step down after eight consecutive years in office, which would require the formation of a new government, but not necessarily new elections.
The bill also prohibits a person from being prime minister even if they have served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, if the terms are not separated by more than three years.
If the difference between the terms of office is greater than three years, the eight-year counter is reset to zero, the bill stipulates.
The bill has been slammed by Likud as specifically targeting Netanyahu, but Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar has been adamant that was untrue.
The legislation further states that the provisions of the bill would not be enacted retroactively and therefore would not preclude Netanyahu from standing for re-election.
Netanyahu is currently standing trial in three corruption cases. He denies any wrongdoing.
"Prolonged rule is a danger to the nation's freedom and morality. It breeds corruption," Sa'ar said in a Facebook post quoting late Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
"Restricting tenure (instead of unlimited tenure) is an important principle that is at the heart of the perception that the government will work for the benefit of the citizens, instead of for itself and its survival. We will continue to strengthen Israel as a Jewish and democratic state," he wrote.
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