Senior justice ministry officials say that if there is truth in reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward appointing either Tourism Minister Yariv Levin from his Likud party or Union of Right-Wing Parties MK Bezalel Smotrich as justice minister, it would be considered “a declaration of war against the Supreme Court,” Channel 10 reports.
“These are two people who want to destroy the existing system and have said as such for several years,” unnamed sources told the channel, according to the report.
“If in the past Prime Minister Netanyahu prevented legislative initiatives against the court and even promised presidents to stand by it, it seems that this time, if one of them is appointed, he will have a backing from Netanyahu to destroy the court and the justice system,” the sources reportedly say. “They see us as the enemy.”
Both Levin and Smotrich have expressed support for clamping down on the Supreme Court and removing its ability to act as a check on the legislature — by denying it the right to strike down Knesset laws. Smotrich has also explicitly said he will seek to enact legislation to protect Netanyahu from indictment.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 18, 2019
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