A petition calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be disqualified in his role as Israeli leader will be heard before the High Court of Justice, the court said on Thursday.
“The petition will be moved to a discussion as soon as possible,” read the ruling.
The petition had been filed on April 19 on behalf of the Democracy Fortress group after Netanyahu had announced in a March 23 speech that he would be involving himself in the judicial reform. The petition had also called for an interim order preventing Netanyahu from engaging with matters related to the reform.
The petitioners noted that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara had warned Netanyahu that his judicial reform speech was in violation of his 2020 conflict of interest agreement, which was organized by her predecessor and approved by the court to condition the forming of his previous government despite his ongoing corruption trials.
As part of the 2020 conflict of interest agreement, Netanyahu was restricted from involving himself in law enforcement and judicial appointments, over concerns that they could interfere with his three ongoing corruption cases.
Israeli High Court hearing on whether Netanyahu can form next government despite indictment he faces. (December 31, 2019) (credit: YONAH JEREMY BOB)In February, Baharav-Miara had previously warned in a letter that Netanyahu’s involvement in the judicial reform, which would see the alteration of the Judicial Selection Committee, constituted a conflict of interest.
The coalition-backed proposal to change the Judicial Selection Committee would alter the composition and rules of the panel to give a ruling coalition a majority voting bloc. Critics have been concerned that this would lead to the selection of political judges.
Other NGOs such as the Movement for Quality Government in Israel had also filed petitions attacking Netanyahu as in violation of his conflict of interest agreement, and calling for Netanyahu to be placed in contempt of court.
Netanyahu was indicted in Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000 in 2019. In Case 1000 the prime minister is accused of accepting expensive gifts from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer while providing personal and business favors to them. In Case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of meeting with Yediot Ahronoth owner Arnon Mozes to advance legislation that would hobble a newspaper rival in return for positive coverage. In Case 4000, Netanyahu is alleged to have promoted regulations that would benefit Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch in return for positive coverage on Walla.
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