Israel Judge: Coalition government is ‘terrifying’ and ‘disrespectful’ of basic law

The former Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Judge Elyakim Rubinstein, described the coalition government agreement concluded earlier this week between the Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition Blue and White Party Leader Benny Gantz, as “terrifying” and “disrespectful” of basic law.

Speaking to Israeli public radio on Thursday, Judge Rubinstein announced that he did not want another election round, but this is not the situation that he had hoped for.

“This is a terrifying agreement. Basic laws have been ignored as if they were municipal regulations over wastewater,” he added, noting that he cannot exclude the possibility of the Supreme Court interference on the matter.

“The coalition agreement is terrifying because it has a lot of legal violations,” Rubinstein explained.

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Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu and Gantz reached an agreement to form a unity government following a political impasse that included three elections taking place in less than a year.

According to the agreement, Netanyahu will be prime minister during the first half of the government rule, while Gantz will become defence minister and deputy prime minister before taking over from Netanyahu.

Netanyahu and Gantz now have three days to form a government with a majority of 61 votes, otherwise the Knesset will dissolve on 7 May and the country will go to a fourth election in August.

Meanwhile, it has been decided to postpone the proposed amendment to the controversial Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers to quit the Knesset and enable the next candidate on their party’s list to enter, but permits the ministers to return to the legislature if they quit the cabinet.

According to the agreement, nearly all of the Knesset members will be appointed to ministerial positions, in an oversized government of 34 ministers.

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