In a pivotal decision, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a law designed to make it more difficult to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office should take effect only after the next parliamentary elections. The court asserted that the legislation was unmistakably crafted for personal reasons.
Enacted last year as part of the government’s contentious legal overhaul plan, the law faced widespread opposition and intensified divisions in Israeli society. Critics argued that the legislation aimed to shield Netanyahu from being declared unfit to rule amid allegations of a conflict of interest, especially as he sought to reshape the justice system while on trial for alleged corruption.
Outgoing Chief Justice Esther Hayut stated, “The personal affairs of the sitting prime minister were not just the motive for legislating the amendment but also the dominant justification for its legislation at the time it was enacted.” The ruling, passed by a narrow 6-5 vote, did not annul the law but highlighted the divisive perspectives on the legal overhaul, with some viewing the court as a defender of democratic fundamentals and others as supporters of the government’s changes.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, an advocacy group that opposed the law, welcomed the decision, emphasizing that the prime minister “cannot create a golden cage for himself” while facing trial. The group’s chairman, Eliad Shraga, expressed satisfaction with the court’s restoration of logical reasoning that had seemingly vanished when the law was enacted.
This ruling follows a recent overturning of the first major piece of the legal overhaul, dealing another blow to Netanyahu’s government. While the government asserted that the legal changes aimed to restore power to elected officials, critics contended that they threatened Israel’s delicate system of checks and balances.
The “incapacitation law,” passed by Netanyahu’s governing coalition, allows a prime minister to be deemed unfit to rule solely for medical or mental health reasons. The amendment, part of the legal overhaul, limits the power to determine a leader’s unfitness to the prime minister or the government, stripping the attorney general of that authority.
With Netanyahu facing corruption charges, including fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes, the attorney general had accused him of violating a conflict of interest agreement by involving himself in the legal overhaul while on trial. Despite the legal developments, the government’s plans for the legal changes remain uncertain, particularly in the context of the ongoing hostilities and conflict.