Dozens of Israelis demonstrated against petitions to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s term in office at the Jerusalem Supreme Court today. „The people are sovereign,“ the demonstrators, wearing respirators, gloves, and Israeli flags, shouted after media reports. Clearance rules due to the coronavirus crisis were apparently observed.
Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday advises on petitions to prevent a deputy from being charged with forming a government. Because of Netanyahu’s accusation of corruption, the movement for a quality government has demanded, among other things, that the right-wing conservative head of government must not become prime minister again.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said today that despite many difficulties, he sees no reason for the court to interfere in the issue.
Agreement on „national emergency government“
The court will also consider petitions against a coalition agreement between Netanyahu and opposition politician Benni Ganz from the Mitte-Bündnis Blau-Weiß on Monday, according to a court document. Mandelblit believes that despite legal problems, there is no reason to reject the coalition agreement. When it is decided is unclear.
On Monday of last week, Netanyahu and Ganz had agreed to form a “national emergency government”. After the parliamentary elections on March 2, both sides had repeatedly pointed to the tense situation in the country due to the coronavirus crisis. Quite a long time ago, a coalition with Netanyahu had rejected the charges of corruption.
If the court decides that Netanyahu cannot become prime minister, Israel faces the fourth parliamentary election since April 2019. In the past few weeks, there have been multiple demonstrations against Netanyahu, some with thousands of participants.
