Israeli parliament passes law to restrict police disclosure of high-profile cases

JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israel's parliament approved on Thursday a law banning the police from going public with their findings, a legislation sponsored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's faction as he faces corruption investigations.

The so-called "recommendations law" was passed in a final reading early on Thursday morning after 43 of filibuster speeches by opposition lawmakers. And 59 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, 54 against it, and seven abstained.

The new law ends a long-time police practice to release its conclusions whether they believe there is enough evidence for an indictment. Under the new law, the police investigators will transfer their recommendation only to the prosecution.

The bill was pushed by Netanyahu's close allies David Bitan, who recently stepped down as chairman of the coalition in the wake of a major corruption affair in which he is a suspect, and David Amsalem, the newly appointed coalition chairman.

Netanyahu himself is also involved in two criminal graft investigations. In these cases, dubbed by the police "case 1,000" and "case 2,000", Netanyahu is suspected of receiving luxury gifts from Israeli-U.S. Hollywood tycoon Arnon Milchan and allegedly making secret deals to receive favorable coverage in Yediot Aharonot, one of Israel's largest daily newspapers. Enditem