Wednesday's ruling by the High Court of Justice to stay out of the coalition deal between Likud and Blue and White and allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government despite the fact he is facing criminal indictments is first and foremost a victory for the court itself.
Whether the ruling the was the result of the court understand Netanyahu's hint – some would even say a thinly veiled threat – about forcing a fourth election – or whether the judges simply understood that a ruling to the contrary would be harmful on multiple levels, denying the petitions prevented the High Court of Justice from another pitfall.
But this will not be the last hurdle the court would have to cross. The letter of the ruling clearly shows that the High Court of Justice has left the door open for future intervention in the political process and legislation down the line.
In fact, the ruling all but invites future petitions to challenge the government once the legislative procedure instating the Likud-Blue and White coalition is complete.
It may look like a done deal, but the Knesset has yet to officially task Netanyahu with forming the next government, something that needs to happen by midnight Thursday. After that, everyone will have two weeks to duke it out for ministries and positions and in the meantime, Likud will assume control of the Arrangements Committee, thus voiding the series of personal bills seeking to undermine Netanyahu's chances of forming a government.
It is widely believed that Netanyahu plans to stick to his deal with Gantz, nor does he plan to trigger another election, and as of Wednesday evening, he and Gantz agreed that the new government will be sworn in next Wednesday.
But the arena usually dominated by politicians now has to make room for the High Court of Justice, which has turned itself into the lynchpin of the political process.
The court may still intervene in the coalition deal and demand revisions contributed to the overall sense of political instability and could upend the system. Left to its own devices, the political system is posed to settle after a very tumultuous year and vote in a new government. Over-intervention by the court at this stage can only bring about chaos.
This is a game in which both sides are taking big risks: Netanyahu risks the court decided to rule differently in the course of the next 18 months about his ability to stay in office while facing trial. This may force his hand on the question of whether he plans to honor the rotation agreement with Gantz and trust the court, or dissolve parliament right not and take his chances with another election.
Gantz, for his part, risks the High Court of Justice debunking the defense mechanism built into the coalition deal to ensure the rotation agreement's integrity.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has no desire to undermine the right-wing bloc but finds it hard to give Yamina leader Naftali Bennett what he wants, namely the Health portfolio.
While doing so would resolve a dilemma, giving the Health portfolio to Blue and White could yield Likud one or two smaller ministries, thus appeasing more Likud officials.
That is another dilemma on which Netanyahu will soon have to rule.
