Coalition leaders have decided to “continue the reform,” according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, shortly after coalition leadership’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wraps up.
“We reached a decision to continue the reform,” Smotrich says, at the opening of his Religious Zionism party’s Knesset faction meeting.
He adds that he has “instructed” Constitutional, Law and Justice Committee head Simcha Rothman to begin advancing a bill as early as Wednesday to end the High Court of Justice’s ability to review government decisions for their reasonableness. Smotrich calls the bill the “Sohlberg bill,” after the Supreme Court judge who proposed a method for doing so.
“We are ready for a conversation, we’re ready to listen, we’re ready for peace,” Smotrich says of stalled conversations, while adding that “we’re ready to convince, because we’re right.”
He says returning to talks is up to the “princesses” in the opposition, after they quit negotiations last Wednesday, saying they would not meet until the coalition staffs and convenes the Judicial Selection Committee.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 19, 2023
