High Court Green Lights Netanyahu-Gantz Government

The High Court announced on Thursday night that it has rejected petitions to disqualify Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ from forming a government under indictment and rejected as well petitions to strike down the coalition agreement.

They stated that “we have not found any legal grounds to intervene in imposing the task of forming the government on MK Netanyahu.”

“That is why we unanimously decided to dismiss the petitions on this issue,” the judges wrote.

While they qualified the ruling with a statement that future intervention in the legislation enabling the government being debated currently in the Knesset was not being ruled out, such intervention is inappropriate “at this time.”

Shortly before, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz issued a joint statement following a meeting on Wednesday which said they have agreed to swear in the new government next Wednesday, May 13.

The judges’ criticism of certain clauses in the agreement prompted Netanyahu and Gantz to agree to revisions, some of which require enactment into law by the Knesset.

The nascent government and the opposition parties were locked in a dramatic floor fight on Wednesday night, as the latter tried to block the necessary legislation with several thousand formal amendments.

Yet, it was last reported by Channel 12 that the opposition has unexpectedly withdrawn all the amendments and called for a plenum vote. It was not immediately clear what was behind that decision, other than possibly a maneuver to pre-empt revision of the coalition agreement, and allowing its passage in a form not acceptable to the High Court.