The High Court of Justice on Sunday began discussing a petition by the Blue and White party asking it to order Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to convene parliament to vote on a new speaker and allow committees to be formed to begin oversight of the government.
Edelstein has been stalling on the issue. Last week he shuttered the Knesset without allowing the process manning the various committees to form, citing the Health Ministry's guidelines barring gathering over the coronavirus outbreak. He further argued that there was a need to try to reach compromises between the parties before setting up the committees.
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The move earned him scathing criticism from Blue and White, which accused him of going against the voters' wishes.
He has said he will allow committees to be formed Monday, but he seems to want to further delay any vote on his potential replacement until a new government has been formed.
While the March 2 elections, Israel's third on the span of one year, again resulted in a political deadlock, it was Blue and White leader Benny Gantz who was able to garner the support of 61 lawmakers to form the government, and President Reuven Rivlin tasked him with the mission.
Gantz has a few weeks to try and form a government. If he fails, he will have to return the mandate, at which point Rivlin will task Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with trying to cobble together a coalition.
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitand Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon opined that the Knesset is independent of the government branch and therefore cannot be ordered to shut down – despite the Health Ministry's instructions to bar gatherings of 10 people and more.
However, on the question of whether Edelstein has the authority to thwart a vote on his replacement, Yinon said that granting a 61-majority vote on the matter could cause a "severe regime malfunction,"
Throughout Israel's 72-year existence, the Knesset speaker had only been replaced once a new government was sworn in. Thus, replacing Edelstein before a government is formed would represent an unprecedented move, even with a majority vote.
On Monday, the Knesset will resume its sessions after Mandleblit said that the Arrangements Committee, which oversees parliament's work until permanent committees are formed, should be established promptly.
Following the hearing, Gantz said that "Israeli democracy will never be taken hostage by small politics, and won't be dependent on any negotiation," referring to the unity government talks being held by his faction and the Likud party.
