In the middle of the Gaza war, Israel's highest judges make a ruling of great consequence. It is a further setback for the already ailing Prime Minister Netanyahu. A national crisis is looming.
Tel Aviv – In a dramatic decision, Israel's Supreme Court has overturned a core element of the country's controversial judicial reform. A razor-thin majority of eight of the 15 judges were in favor of annulling a change in the law passed in July, the court announced.
The amendment to the Basic Law deprived the court of the opportunity to take action against “inappropriate” decisions by the government, the Prime Minister or individual ministers. Critics had warned that this could encourage corruption and the arbitrary appointment of key posts.
The ruling stated that the change in the law would have “caused serious and unprecedented damage to the core characteristics of the State of Israel as a democratic state.”
In Israel's history, a comparable law has never been struck down by the Supreme Court. If the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not accept the decision, the country will face a state crisis.
The government pushed through the change in the law despite massive resistance in parliament. Israel's Supreme Court then convened in September for a historic trial. For the first time in the country's history, all 15 judges came together to discuss eight petitions against the adopted amendment to the Basic Law.
The judicial reform, which the government had massively pushed forward since it was sworn in a year ago, had deeply divided Israeli society. For months, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against it. Critics viewed the government's actions as a threat to Israel's democracy. Netanyahu's government, however, argued that the court was too powerful in Israel and that it simply wanted to restore balance. Negotiations for a compromise were unsuccessful.
Many saw the months of heated disputes as one reason why Israel was so surprised by the devastating attack by the Islamist Hamas in the border area on October 7th.
The Israeli broadcaster N12 leaked a draft of the Supreme Court's ruling. For formal reasons, the court had until January 12th to publish its decision. Justice Minister Jariv Levin, who is seen as the driving force behind the reform, had nevertheless asked the court to postpone the verdict until after the war. “As our soldiers fight side by side on various fronts, and as the entire nation mourns the loss of many lives, the people of Israel must not be torn apart by strife,” Levin argued.
The verdict is another setback for Netanyahu. He had lost massively in popularity in polls since October 7th. Many people resent him for not yet admitting personal responsibility for the Hamas massacre on October 7th.
It is unclear how the government will react to the ruling. In an interview with the US broadcaster CNN in September, Netanyahu did not want to give a clear answer to the question of whether he would respect a court decision against the change in the law. Netanyahu said at the time: “I believe we should adhere to the rulings of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court should adhere to the basic laws that parliament passes.” dpa
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