Jerusalem, Mar 7 (IANS): Israeli lawmakers have advanced a bill to allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep a donation from his relative to cover expenses of his ongoing graft trial.

The bill passed a preliminary unbinding vote in the Knesset (parliament) plenum on Monday, with 53 lawmakers voting in favour and 49 against, reports Xinhua news agency.

The bill needs to pass three more full rounds of votes before getting its final approval.

It calls for the cancellation of an existing law that bars public servants and their spouses from receiving donations for legal proceedings or medical care.

The vote was held a day after it was approved by Cabinet ministers, despite an objection by the country's attorney general, which said the bill might promote bribery of politicians and corruption.

If passed, it will allow Netanyahu to keep $270,000 of donation from his late cousin to finance the legal expenses of the Prime Minister and his wife.

In 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered him to pay back the funds.

The bill is part of a plan by Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the Israeli legal system.

The plan sparked the largest protests seen in Israel for years.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have held rallies for the past two months, protesting the government's plans to put further limits on the Supreme Court and change the appointment of new judges.

According to Netanyahu, the overhaul is needed in order to curb the overly activist Supreme Court, but critics fear that he wishes to gain excessive power over the legal system.

The lavish lifestyle and spending of Netanyahu and his wife Sara have attracted much criticism from many in the Israeli public.

One of the cases for which he is standing trial involves the receiving of boxes of Cuban cigars and Moet champagne from a Hollywood millionaire.

Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, saying the trial is part of "a witch hunt".