Chief Justice Esther Hayut says the High Court will focus its deliberations on the matter of a new Knesset speaker, as other issues raised in Blue and White’s petition are close to being solved.
“The issue of forming an Arrangements Committee [which will lead the formation of other committees] will come to the plenum tomorrow,” Hayut says as the court weighs the petition against Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s actions.
And she notes that solutions are also being discussed to bypass the limitation on gatherings due to the coronavirus crisis — so it does not appear the legislature stands to be shuttered over it.
Supreme Court President Esther Hayut at a High Court preliminary hearing on whether a lawmaker facing criminal indictment can be tapped to form a coalition, December 31, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“I think in light of these answers we received, we can focus on the matter of electing a Knesset speaker,” she says.
The representative of the attorney general in the proceedings says Avichai Mandelblit’s position is “at this time it is necessary to enter into the agena of the plenum as soon as possible the request by 61 MKs to elect a speaker for the 23rd Knesset.”
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