Israel's High Court of Justice on Sunday ordered the Shin Bet security agency to halt its use of phone-surveillance technology in the battle against the coronavirus unless parliament begins legislating guidelines for the controversial practice.
In its decision, the court said parliament must begin the legislative process by Thursday.
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The ruling came hours after Israel's embattled health minister said he would step down following a public uproar over his handling of the crisis and his own COVID-19 infection.
Last month, the government authorized the Shin Bet security agency to use its phone-snooping tactics on coronavirus patients despite concerns from civil-liberties advocates that the practice would raise serious privacy issues.
While officials have defended the practice as a life-saving measure, civil rights groups attacked it as an assault on privacy rights.
Adalah, an Arab-run advocacy group that challenged the order, praised the court decision but said it was "gravely concerned" that it had given the government so much time to conduct and legislate the practice.
"A High Court decision that acknowledges this illegality but nevertheless allows it to continue severely harms the civil rights of all citizens," it said.
The Shin Bet said it was reviewing the decision and had no further comment. But cabinet member Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called the ruling "worrying" and accused the court of "excessive and unnecessary intervention."
Meanwhile, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman informed Netanyahu that he would step aside as the country forms a new government. In a statement, he made no mention of his much-criticized performance at the Health Ministry, which he has led for most of the past decade. Instead, he'll take over the Housing Ministry to deal with the country's housing crisis.
The government has generally been lauded for keeping the coronavirus crisis in check. The virus has infected over 15,000 Israelis and killed nearly 200 people, but Israel has not seen its health system overwhelmed like hard-hit places such as Italy or New York, and the country has begun easing weeks of lockdown.
In a TV interview Sunday, Litzman said he had never violated lockdown rules and was leaving his job because he was ready for a new challenge, not because of public pressure.
"It's clear things have changed for the better," he told Channel 13 News, referring to the outbreak.
