ISRAEL: According to a letter made public on Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu was informed by Israel’s attorney general that he must not participate in a proposed reorganisation of the nation’s legal system because doing so would constitute a conflict of interest with the prime minister’s corruption prosecution.
Despite rising public opposition, Netanyahu’s new far-right government has pressed ahead with measures to undermine the supreme court and give lawmakers less judicial control in their decision-making. The goal of their legislative agenda is to change the legal system.
In a separate legal opinion regarding the proposed changes, the office of the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, stated that they would “seriously undermine the system of checks and balances” in Israel’s government and grant the executive and legislature “broad and effectively unlimited authority.”
In connection with a string of scandals involving powerful media moguls and rich allies, Netanyahu is currently facing charges of fraud, breach of trust, and receiving bribes. He contests his guilt.
The letter, which was sent to Netanyahu on Wednesday, stated that Netanyahu “must avoid, as part of your role as prime minister, involvement in initiatives related to the legal system.”
A statement from Baharav’s deputy, Miara, was included in the letter, stating that the changes would “benefit the prime minister in terms of the administration of his trial.”
It claimed that the adjustments will make it simpler for the ruling coalition to advance legislation that may support Netanyahu.
Baharav-position Miara’s won’t have an impact on the plan’s development, according to Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem.
According to him, the attorney general’s position is legally enforceable, so neither Netanyahu nor any of his political appointees will be able to cope with the legal changes. However, he asserted that his government’s ministers ought to be able to.
The country’s justice minister, a close confidant of Netanyahu’s, spearheaded the court reform, which the Israeli leader has hailed as the correct move for the nation.
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