TEL
AVIV — A looming Supreme Court decision on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
divisive plan to overhaul Israel’s courts threatened to disrupt his fragile
wartime government after an Israeli television report revived the fissures
around the ruling.
اضافة اعلان
A leaked draftChannel
12, a major Israeli broadcaster, reported Wednesday night on what it called a
leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision to strike down part of his plan, which
would weaken the judiciary and strengthen the government. Before the war, the
plan, backed by Netanyahu’s hard-right allies, had been opposed by huge,
monthslong protests.
A
spokesperson for Israel’s courts said Thursday that “the writing of the ruling
is not yet complete.” The court is expected to rule by mid-January.
Whatever
the decision, it has the potential to throw Israel’s unity government, formed
after October 7, into disarray as the occupation wages war in the Gaza Strip
and faces international pressure over the scope of its military campaign.
Two
members of Israel’s war Cabinet — one of Netanyahu’s longtime rivals, Benny
Gantz, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — both criticized the government’s
pursuit of the overhaul. Netanyahu had tried to fire Gallant after the defense
minister criticized the pace of the plan, only to reverse the decision amid
widespread outrage.
Should
the court rule against Netanyahu, it could set off a constitutional crisis
within Israel if his allies try to defy it. Regardless of the outcome, the case
is considered one of the most consequential in Israel’s history, because it
could determine the extent to which politicians will be subject to judicial
oversight.
Israel’s
Channel 12 broadcaster reported Wednesday night that a slim majority of the
court — eight of 15 judges — is set to overturn a law passed in July that
stripped Israel’s Supreme Court of the power to overturn government actions and
appointments it deems “unreasonable.”
Netanyahu’s
right-wing governing coalition had passed the law to remove what it said was
the court’s ability to overrule the will of the majority.
The
law was part of Netanyahu’s wider plan to weaken the country’s judiciary, which
divided the country and led hundreds of thousands of Israelis to stage months
of street protests. Opponents, including Israel’s chief justice and attorney
general, said the plan — if fully carried out — would deal a fatal blow to the
country’s separation of powers.
The
dispute posed one of the gravest domestic political crises Israel had faced in
the 75 years since the occupation’s founding. But it faded to the background
after October 7, in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and more than 240
were taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Four
days after the attack, Netanyahu formed a wartime government with opponents
including Gantz, the leader of the opposition National Unity alliance, who
opposed the judicial overhaul.
The
crisis over the judicial changes was a proxy for deeper rifts over Israel’s
future. Secular and liberal Israelis view the Supreme Court as a bulwark in a
country that is becoming more conservative and religious.
The
New York Times has not obtained a copy of the leaked decision, and Channel 12
did not publish the full document. At a hearing on the matter in September,
questions and statements by the judges indicated that several had concerns
about the law.
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