Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit told the High Court of Justice Tuesday evening to not intervene in a revised coalition agreement signed between Likud and Blue & White after the court disapproved of the original version and demanded both parties to submit amendments to three of the document's key clauses within 24 hours.
"The attorney general believes that there is no reason to strike down the agreement or any of its clauses," Mandelblit wrote in his response. “Intervention by the honorable court in coalition agreements should be only reserved for exceptional and rare cases."
Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Benny Gantz’s Blue & White submitted the revised coalition agreement which addressed the pertinent changes warranted by the High Court.
A clause that bars the appointment of senior officials during the unity government's first six months was shortened to 100 days.
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Eleven-strong expanded High Court judges' panel discussing petitions against coalition agreement
(Photo: EPA)
Another clause that doesn’t allow for most non-coronavirus-related legislation to be advanced for the first six months of the government was dropped, but both parties have agreed to give priority to laws aimed to fight the pandemic.
Moreover, Likud and Blue & White have decided the emergency orders meant to rein in the spread of the deadly pathogen will not be extended beyond six months.
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Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and Chief Justice Esther Hayut
(Photo: Sharon Tzur)
The judges' panel implored both parties to uphold the customary practice of giving the opposition a number of Knesset committees. Likud and Blue & White refused, however, and will keep all Knesset committees in the hands of the coalition. The move is not unprecedented and has occurred in past governments, they added.
The judges' panel will deliver its ruling sometime before Thursday, just before Prime Minister Netanyahu's mandate to form a coalition is set to expire, which could plunge the country into a fourth consecutive election.