Justice Minister Yariv Levin is on the verge of resignation as the government prepares to decide who will represent it on the judicial selection committee, officials familiar with the matter told Israel Hayom this week. 

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Levin, the main driving force behind the judicial reform, is said to be concerned that the candidates he proposes for the committee would not be backed by the government, leading to the collapse of the controversial legislation. 

According to sources, Levin is in "complete despair." 

"He is on the verge of breaking it all, on the verge of resigning, for Levin it's all or nothing," one official said. 

Nevertheless, those close to Levin say he is not distressed over the matter. 

Following negotiations led by President Isaac Herzog, a representative from the Opposition will also be chosen for the committee. Sources said the matter is of no concern for Levin either, as it will not make a difference as his candidates are unlikely to be chosen anyway. 

Although there are several contenders, Transportation Minister Miri Regev is most likely to be appointed to the poisition, and is the preferred option by Netanyahu. 

Regev served on the judicial selection committee in the past. At a Knesset meeting on Sunday she said, "I used to be a member of the judicial selection committee and I saw how everything is biased. The current reality, in which Supreme Court Chief Justice [Esther] Chayut together with the Bar Association select the judges is unbearable. They are all from the same DNA. This must change, we must have representation and diversity in the court."

Prominent lawmakers Orit Strock, Galit Distel Atbaryan, and May Golan were also mentioned as potential candidates. 

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After the passing of the state budget, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be required to return to an issue that has been on hold for two months – the judicial reform and negotiations over the controversial legislation led by President Isaac Herzog.

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After a long series of talks between the parties, the situation is starting to become clearer.

The Opposition is ready to compromise on one component of the reform, the law pertaining to the attorney general, which will allow MKs to receive private representation in petitions rather than being represented by the attorney general.

In exchange, the committee for the selection of judges will convene in its current format, without any changes, and the Coalition will pledge not to make any changes to it during the current government. In addition, they will also pledge not to promote any legal-administrative measures without consensus.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Simcha Rotman, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and other Coalition members are pushing to pass at least some of the bills during the current summer session, even if doing so would constitute a unilateral move.

Netanyahu will need to decide whether to comply with the demand of his Coalition partners or the Opposition. If he decides on the former, he will draw the ire of the Opposition, who might go back on any promises of a compromise and call for the reform to be stopped completely. If the chooses the latter, he will be risking the safety of his Coalition as members threatened to leave unless the judicial reform is promoted further.

Political officials understand that reaching a decision and a breakthrough in the talks in the near future is vital.

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Netanyahu on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to reaching a compromise on the legislation.

"We will of course continue with our efforts to arrive at a broad consensus agreement, to the extent possible, on the issue of judicial reform," he said in a video message published to social media. "I believe with goodwill and real will it's possible to come to agreements that will serve all citizens of Israel."

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Contrary to regular practices, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara have only met five times since the establishment of the Netanyahu government, Israel Hayom has learned.

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In contrast, previous justice ministers, such as Gideon Sa'ar, Avi Nissankorn, and Ayelet Shaked used to hold weekly meetings with the attorney general at the time.

According to data, the last time Levin and Baharav-Miara met was two months ago, on Feb. 28. The meeting before that was held on Feb. 2.

During that meeting, Baharav-Miara penned a legal opinion, harshly criticizing the judicial reform that Levin is spearheading, saying it would cause "great harm to Israel's system of checks and balances."

Israel Hayom learned that the exchange led to a significant breach of trust between the two officials, which is what led to a decrease in the frequency of their meetings.

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With only ten days left until the Knesset recess begins, here are six possible scenarios as to how the future of the judicial reform might turn out.

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Bills are passed in the second and third readings, causing a constitutional crisis

The first possibility is that the Coalition will turn down President Isaac Herzog's outline for a compromise and ignore the protesters and calls within the Likud for negotiations, and continue to promote the first cluster of the judicial reform bills, bringing them for final approval within two weeks.

Video: Reuters

The legislation is likely to garner a majority and is expected to be voted into law.

However, even if the bills are approved, it is still unclear how the judiciary will react and whether the Supreme Court will strike them down. Theoretically, with the new law, the Knesset will be able to override the court's decision, although it is unclear whether that will be accepted by the judges, which could prompt a constitutional crisis.

The legislation is frozen, triggering a coalition crisis

Another scenario is that the Coalition yields and pauses the legislation until after the Knesset recess, which begins on Passover, opening the door for negotiations with the Opposition and as a sign of goodwill and readiness for talks.

The decision might lead to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is spearheading the reform, resigning from his position, triggering a crisis within the Coalition.

The ultra-Orthodox factions are not interested in pausing the legislation either as the conscription law is coming up for a vote in the Knesset soon, and is likely to be rejected, like its predecessors, by the Supreme Court.

The Coalition alters the legislation

Another possibility is that the Coalition pushes forward with the judicial reform, but adjusts the wording in order to mitigate the conflict.

This is a likely possibility as both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates have spoken of it in the past few days, given that Levin and the Haredi faction insist on completing the first batch of the bills before the recess begins next week, and given that no lawmaker in the Opposition is open to negotiating.

Protests escalate

There is also a danger of increased protests should the Coalition push forward with the reform as is. The Histadrut Labor Federation, for instance, can declare that the legislation will harm workers and shut down the economy. Industrialists too can decide on their organized ways to demonstrate.

In such a scenario, the government will need to regulate the fallout, either by changing the legislation or working to end the strike in other ways.

The legislation is paused due to a security escalation

Another development that might get in the way of the government getting the laws passed by Passover is a security escalation.

Based on remarks by senior officials in the defense establishment, including Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Israel is soon going to respond to the blast at the Megiddo Junction.

Although state and military officials have stressed that they are not interested in an escalation, things may spiral out of control, as it happened in such cases in the past.

This may directly impact the judicial reform, allowing Netanyahu to put it on hold without Levin resigning or the Haredi factions pulling out of the Coalition. It will also make negotiations with the Opposition possible.

The president's outline is revived

And lastly, although the Coalition has already rejected the president's plan for a compromise, the proposal might be revived and bring about some kind of agreement between the Coalition and the Opposition.

Herzog himself said a day after his proposal was revealed that it was not final, but rather a basis for talks that could develop if the parties are interested.

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The Knesset Tuesday passed the first reading of major bills pertaining to the judicial reform, including the highly contested override clause.

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After a lengthy filibuster, the plenum split between Coalition-Opposition lines, with 61 voting in favor of the measure, and 52 voting against it.

If passed, the override clause will allow a 61-seat majority of the Knesset to relegislate laws struck down by the Supreme Court as "unconstitutional," in effect for as long as the coalition remains in power. After a year, the possibility to extend comes under review.

The proposed law would also limit the Supreme Court's judicial review, requiring 80% of its justices to overturn a law and prevent the attorney general from declaring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit for office.

Tuesday's vote marks the first of three before the bill becomes law. At this stage, it heads to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for revisions ahead of the final votes, which usually come in short succession.

The legislation is part of reforms proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin that have sparked massive protests in Israel, with an estimated 300,000 people participating in demonstrations last Saturday.

Opponents claim the bill would grant the new government unbridled power, while supporters say it will balance the power of the judiciary, executive and legislative branches, bringing Israel more in line with other democratic nations.

Netanyahu, who has been barred by the attorney general from discussing the specifics of the reform program due to a possible conflict of interest with his ongoing criminal trial, has called on the opposition to present its own proposal for judicial overhaul.

"For eight weeks we have been calling for negotiations. We are bringing the reform to the Knesset to decide," he said last week. "I call upon those in the opposition to do something simple: Present your alternative in an attempt to reach an agreement."

The premier said that with goodwill an agreement could be reached "within days."

Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz rejected the overture and conditioned any negotiations on the government freezing the accompanying legislative process.

Other bills that passed first reading on Tuesday include one that would repeal the clauses of the Disengagement Law, allowing Israelis to enter territory from which Israel disengaged in 2005, and thereby allowing the government to legalize settlements in the region, such as Homesh.

i24NEWS and JNS.org contributed to this report.

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