Jerusalem: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the country’s Supreme Court on Monday not to interfere in his efforts to build a coalition government, threatening that a decision against him could drag the country toward an unprecedented fourth straight election in just over a year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his comments shortly after the court heard a second day of arguments in a series of legal challenges to the coalition deal.
The court’s rulings, expected by the end of the week, will dictate whether Israel breaks out of its prolonged political paralysis with Netanyahu and his former political rival Benny Gantz joining forces in government, or whether the country is plunged into another election.
The court is looking into two key questions: whether a politician facing criminal corruption charges, such as Netanyahu, can form a new government; and whether his coalition deal with Gantz violated the law.
Speaking to reporters following a briefing on coronavirus developments, Netanyahu pressed the court not to get involved in the country’s political affairs lest it risk forcing new elections.
We hope the court doesn’t interfere. It doesn’t need to interfere. There is the will of the people, the clear expression of the will of the people, Netanyahu said.
If a court ruling picks apart the coalition deal, it increases the chances that we will be dragged to fourth elections, something that will be a catastrophe, he said.
An unusually large panel of 11 justices, all wearing face masks and separated by plastic barriers, heard the case against the emerging coalition. Reflecting the case’s importance, the court took the rare step of streaming the proceedings on its website and on national TV.
Since Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges last year, he has stepped up his attacks on the country’s legal establishment and sought to portray himself as a victim.