Israel’s High Court of Justice this week rejected a petition to remove Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary immunity so that he could face charges of endangering national security.
The petition was submitted by Meretz Knesset member Ran Cohen, who sought to bring the charges after Netanyahu brought before the Knesset a classified Israeli army document in June.
The document detailed security arrangements with Syria that would from the basis of a peace agreement between the two countries.
The document appeared to back away from Israel’s demand to maintain an early- warning station on the Golan Heights and also presumed a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan as part of a peace agreement with Syria.
Netanyahu claimed before the Knesset that then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had ordered the army to prepare the document to be used in discussions with Syria.
Rabin at first denied all knowledge of the document; in subsequent days, he termed it a “stolen document.”
Netanyahu said the document proved that the Rabin government was willing to compromise Israel’s security needs to reach a peace agreement with Damascus.
This week, the court ruled that Netanyahu’s actions were sheltered by his parliamentary immunity.
But at the same time, the court instructed Minister of Internal Security Shahal and Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair to explain why it had not ordered an inquiry to determine how the document was leaked to Netanyahu.
Cohen said he was satisfied with Sunday’s court ruling.
“The fact that the court ordered the attorney general to investigate how such a document got into a politician’s hands is an achievement in itself,” he told Israel Radio.
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