Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn (Blue and White) vowed to work against any legislation seeking to override High Court of Justice rulings that strike down laws passed by the Knesset.
Over the past few years, right-wing parties have presented parliament with various drafts of bills seeking to curb the High Court's power by giving the government the authority to circumvent its rulings with a special majority vote in the Knesset. None of these proposals have been able to graduate the legislative process.
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Speaking with Channel 12 News in his first interview since being appointed justice minister, Nissenkorn said, "There will be no court-bypassing law as long as I'm justice minister.
"I think the legal system today needs to be defended. Its public image has been tarnished, mostly without justification."
Nissenkorn was seemingly referring to statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the beginning of his trial on corruption charges last month, when he attacked police and prosecutors, accusing them of politicizing the justice system in order to bring him down.
"The goal is to oust a strong right-wing prime minister and to banish the right-wing camp from leadership of the country for many years," he said at the time.
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Nissenkorn's statement came just a week after the High Court struck down as "unconstitutional" the 2017 Regulation Law, which granted the state the authority to appropriate private Palestinian land in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, with compensation to the owners.
The ruling reignited concern over the power of the High Court, as well as the push by Netanyahu to extend Israeli law to parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
