If the High Court of Justice interferes with the agreement for a coalition government, Israel will hold a fourth election, a senior member of the right-wing bloc said Thursday, after the court asked the government to respond to petitions against the unity government deal and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continuing to serve as prime minister as if an interim order was already in place.
The High Court of Justice decided that the government would have until 11 a.m. Sunday to respond to the petitions.
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Meanwhile, after contentious debate, the Knesset plenum passed on Thursday a preliminary reading of a bill designed to allow a long list of amendments to the Basic Law: the Government, to allow for the possibility of an emergency government co-led by the Likud and Blue and White.
The changes are far-reaching and include a prohibition on forcing a prime minister in a rotation to step down because of indictments against him; a cancellation of limits to the number of ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet; approval for an additional minister for each portfolio and two deputies at each ministry. The bill also proposes that the current Knesset serve only three years, rather than four.
The bill, submitted by Blue and White MK Eitan Ginsburg, received the votes of 62 MKs from the Likud, Blue and White, United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Labor parties, while 37 MKs – from Yesh Atid-Telem, the Joint Arab List, and Meretz parties – voted against it. Yamina MKs abstained.
