Reports indicate PM favoring two hardliners for key post amid calls to limit court’s ability to overturn Knesset legislation, all in shadow of his impending graft indictments
Negotiations are likely to be fierce, with all parties, barring Kulanu, indispensable for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Initial speculation focused on the Justice Ministry, with Netanyahu’s legal woes expected to be a major issue in the next term. The premier is facing indictment in three separate cases in the coming months, pending a hearing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) with Tourism Minister Yariv Levin during a Knesset vote on the budget, which coincided with police publishing recommendations that Netanyahu be indicted for bribery and breach of trust, February 13, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Speculation has swirled that Netanyahu may use his newfound political strength to advance legislation that would grant him immunity from prosecution as long as he remains prime minister. He has been reported to be considering conditioning entry to his new government on potential support for a so-called French Law that would shelter a sitting prime minister from prosecution. Netanyahu has publicly given mixed signals about whether he will seek such legislation.
On Wednesday, Hebrew media reports indicated that Netanyahu favored either Tourism Minister Yariv Levin from his Likud party or Union of Right-Wing Parties MK Bezalel Smotrich as justice minister. Channel 12 reported that “it was almost certain” Netanyahu would choose one of the two men.
Outgoing Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also a believer in reforming Israel’s justice system, with its reputation as a liberal bastion, did not make the Knesset after her New Right party failed to cross the election threshold.
Both Levin and Smotrich have expressed support for clamping down on the Supreme Court and removing its ability to act as a check on the legislature, and Smotrich has explicitly said he will seek to enact legislation to protect Netanyahu from indictment.
Levin, who serves as tourism minister in the outgoing government, is a political hawk and an advocate for weakening the powers of the court.
Smotrich, a co-founder of the right-wing NGO Regavim, which targets illegal construction by non-Jews in Israel and the West Bank, entered the Knesset in 2015 and quickly became known for his uncompromising right-wing views and controversial remarks.
During his four years in the Knesset, he has made headlines for encouraging draft-dodging in protest of the IDF’s “radical feminist” agenda, for comparing the evacuation of an illegal settlement outpost to a “brutal rape,” and for claiming that “illiterate” Arabs are only granted university admission thanks to affirmative action. He has also called himself a “proud homophobe,” has called for segregated Jewish-Arab maternity wards in hospitals, and was involved in organizing an anti-gay “Beast Parade” in Jerusalem in response to the city’s annual Gay Pride parade.
Netanyahu is a suspect in three criminal probes, known as cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, in which investigators have recommended graft indictments.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu in all three cases, pending a hearing.
Netanyahu will have 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of a two-week extension at the discretion of the president.
Legal issues aside, Netanyahu is also expected to have a difficult time reconciling the demands of the two ultra-Orthodox parties, which both saw an increase in support, and Avigdor Liberman’s secularist Yisrael Beytenu party.
Liberman has vowed to hold his ground on religious and state issues in a coalition likely to be dominated by the religious right, particularly over the issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox.
Once Netanyahu is done with all of that, he will face the tricky issue of meeting the demands for ministerial posts from his fellow Likud members, who will want a greater share of the pie after winning 35 seats.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.