Netanyahu on High Court petition: Attempt ‘to carry out a coup’ under cover of court

Responding to a High Court petition alleging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated a conflict of interest arrangement, a lawyer for the premier argues the court has no authority to hear the matter and therefore should reject the suit.

Michael Rabilo cites a controversial law passed last week to prevent the court from ordering Netanyahu to recuse himself, though Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has clarified that the premier is barred from dealing with the government’s judicial overhaul due to the potential impact on his ongoing trial for corruption charges.

“This is a grave attempt to drag the judicial system into the political turmoil and cause it to decide illegally and in opposition to the decision of the representative democratic institutions, without explicit authority in law,” he says.

Rabilo adds: “No word games can hid the fact that there’s an attempt here to uproot the sovereignty of the people and carry out a coup under the cover of the court.”