Knesset panel again votes to advance bill to limit AG’s role; could have plenum reading as soon as Wednesday

By Sam Sokol 25 May 2026, 1:22 pm

Edit

Sam 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"

MK Simcha Rothman leads a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 25, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee reapproves the coalition’s bill to curtail the power of the attorney general, voting for the second time in under a week to advance the controversial legislation to its first reading in the Knesset plenum.

Panel chair Simcha Rothman welcomes the committee’s vote, stating that the bill could be voted on in the plenum as early as Wednesday, adding that “as long as the Knesset completes its full term, I hope to pass it in its second and third readings.”

Lawmakers on the committee last week voted 9-0 to advance the bill, which would split the attorney general’s role into three separate positions, effectively draining it of all authority and independence, after opposition lawmakers walked out, claiming that the vote was illegitimate because the Finance Ministry had not produced an updated budgetary analysis of the cost of the bill.

At the time, committee legal adviser Gur Bligh, who has been critical of the bill, said that the vote could continue, although he later recommended reopening the discussion.

During today’s renewed debate, Adv. Avigail Peleg, a representative of the Finance Ministry, states that the bill “does not introduce new activities but rather an internal organizational split,” which does not necessarily indicate an increased cost requiring a new analysis.

She adds that while she is not claiming that there will be no additional cost, “according to the current wording, which is unclear how it will be implemented,” it is possible that there will be no budgetary implication, although “we will be able to provide a more precise budgetary assessment as details become clearer for the second and third readings.”

Opposition lawmakers push back, arguing that splitting the role of the attorney general would entail significant staffing and budget increases, mandating a new Finance Ministry assessment.

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv accuses the coalition of continuing to push its judicial overhaul agenda despite the hardships of the past several years and pledges that “if, heaven forbid, it passes, this will be the first law to be repealed” by the next government.