From the Liveblog of
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Karhi urges ignoring High Court call to redo comptroller vote; Yesh Atid hails legal ‘victory’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calls on the coalition to ignore the High Court’s recommendation that the Knesset hold a new election for the position of state comptroller due to concerns that the vote earlier this month violated the requirement that it be held by secret ballot.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer, Michael Rabello, won the initial vote.
“When the High Court of Justice tries to reshuffle the ballots in the ballot box to get a different result, we should all be worried about the upcoming elections. We say no(!) to the High Court,” Karhi posts on X.
The court’s call to rerun the election is welcomed, however, by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, which frames it as a “victory.”
Lapid submitted a petition on behalf of his and former prime minister Nafatli Bennett’s joint Together slate, over Rabello’s election, arguing that the secret-ballot vote was irreparably compromised by alleged efforts to pressure Likud lawmakers into proving how they had voted.
During the vote on June 3, at least seven coalition MKs recorded themselves voting for Rabello, allegedly on the instructions of senior Likud officials.
“The court’s decision strengthens our argument that the coalition contaminated and disgraced the election process, and that a proper, fair process, free of political considerations, must be ensured,” Yesh Atid says in a statement.
“We must not take our eyes off the most corrupt government in the country’s history, even for a moment,” says Lapid.
The Times of Israel Community.