Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said Karen Elharrar of the centrist Yesh Atid party won one of the two committee seats, but that Tali Gottlieb of Netanyahu’s Likud party lost, paving the way for another vote on the second seat in 30 days.
The vote is seen as an indication of the outcome of talks between Netanyahu and the opposition over judicial changes and a test of his leadership of a far-right coalition that has 64 of the 120 Knesset seats.
The talks aimed at reaching a compromise began shortly after Netanyahu in March suspended a controversial government push to overhaul the judicial system, sparking unprecedented protests with critics calling the changes a threat to Israeli democracy.
But after the results of the vote were announced, opposition leaders said the talks were stalled until the nine-member panel, which also includes two ministers, three judges and two lawyers, is completed.
“No committee, no talks,” Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, said in a televised statement.
The furore over the amendments in the past few weeks has subsided slightly as the talks progress, and Netanyahu’s coalition was widely expected to stick to Knesset traditions and support the inclusion of an opposition member along with a coalition lawmaker on the committee.
But after last-minute deliberations, the coalition said it would not support any candidate, which it intended to delay. Netanyahu called on the opposition to continue the talks.
Western allies, including Washington, have urged Netanyahu to seek a broad consensus on changes to the judicial system, saying it must remain independent. And the stakes are rising with the retirement of two Supreme Court justices in the coming months.
Defenders of the proposed amendments, which give the government near complete control over judge appointments, say the Supreme Court is elitist, left-leaning and overreaching, and that elected officials should have more power in choosing the bench.
Opponents say this could politicize and weaken a powerful Supreme Court that plays a key role in protecting democratic checks and balances in Israel.
The amendment campaign alienated investors and the shekel fell before Netanyahu suspended them in late March. . But economists and international credit rating agencies say continued uncertainty would pose a risk to Israel’s rating.
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