With more than 15,000 signatures from the public, the Movement for Integrity in Israel on Sunday petitioned the High Court of Justice to overturn a decision by President Reuven Rivlin’s to nominate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government.
They also asked the court to issue a precautionary order against Netanyahu, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, the Knesset and the Likud party bloc to explain their position and answer questions about Rivlin’s decision.
“The appointment of Netanyahu is not constitutional and undermines the solid core of the rule of law in the State of Israel,” said Shahar Ben-Meir, head of the movement.
He continued: “It is not only the president who made a mistake here, we have a series of mistakes and sins. The legal advisor must explain why he is silent about the violation of the law. Netanyahu is corrupt and there are strong suspicions against him; and the same advisor has declared that he and the prosecution support an indictment against him.”
The petitioners said they were not asking to end Netanyahu’s term as head of an interim government, but to prevent him from exercising his duties and making him a “frozen prime minister”, “because it is unreasonable, illogical and immoral, to hand over the administration of state affairs to a person who is soaked in corruption.”
The court is likely to reject the complaint, which will, however, bolster the forces that are supporting the corruption cases against Netanyahu. Ben-Meir said, however, he was optimistic about a positive decision by the High Court of Justice.
Undeterred, Netanyahu continued on Monday efforts to form his government.
He met representatives of the right-wing Union Party, which announced that they intend to draft a law that would prevent Netanyahu from being tried as long as he is prime minister. In return, they demanded that the government reject US President Donald Trump’s yet unveiled Middle East peace proposal and any plan that includes decisions to evacuate settlements.
