Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the High Court of Justice on Monday not to interfere in his efforts to build a coalition government, threatening that a decision against him could drag the country toward an unprecedented fourth straight election in just over a year.
Netanyahu made his comments shortly after the court heard a second day of arguments in a series of legal challenges to the coalition deal.
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The court is looking into two key questions: whether a politician facing criminal corruption charges, such as Netanyahu, can form a new government; and whether or not his coalition deal with Gantz violated the law.
Speaking to reporters following a briefing on coronavirus developments, Netanyahu pressed the court not to get involved in the country's political affairs lest it risk forcing new elections.
"We hope the court doesn't interfere. It doesn't need to interfere. There is the will of the people, the clear expression of the will of the people," Netanyahu said.
If a court ruling picks apart the coalition deal, it "increases the chances that we will be dragged to fourth elections, something that will be a catastrophe," he said.
An unusually large panel of 11 justices, all wearing face masks and separated by plastic barriers, in accordance with Health Ministry regulations, heard the case against the emerging coalition. Reflecting the case's importance, the court took the rare step of streaming the proceedings on its website and on national TV.
After deadlocking in three closely contested election campaigns, Netanyahu and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Benny Gantz reached a deal last month in which they would be sworn in together for an emergency government ostensibly to battle the coronavirus and its economic fallout.
The deal calls for Netanyahu to serve first as prime minister and Gantz as the designated premier, with the two swapping posts after 18 months. The new position will enjoy all the trappings of the prime minister, including an official residence and – key for Netanyahu – an exemption from a law that requires all public officials, except the prime minister, to resign if charged with a crime.
The court will be asked to rule on this arrangement, and there is a sense of urgency as Thursday marks the deadline for presenting a new government before new elections are called.
Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkin (Likud) warned that any court intervention could trigger a highly unpopular election.
"The coalition agreement is very complex. Moving a single brick could bring the entire structure down and force fourth elections," Elkin told Army Radio.
Attorney Dafna Holtz-Lechner, who represents one of the petitioners, countered that oversight was required precisely because "someone charged with criminal offenses is also the person who concocted the coalition agreement with all its repercussions for himself."
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said in an opinion to the court that while Netanyahu's indictments "raise significant problems," there was no legal basis for barring him from serving while facing criminal charges. But good governance groups have appealed against this, citing the precedent of forcing Cabinet ministers and mayors to resign if indicted.
