The Israeli Supreme Court issued a statement late last night, announcing its decision to reject all petitions which sought to disqualify Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s right to form a government, as well as petitions against the coalition-agreement that, in accordance with its constitutional capacity as the country’s High Court of Justice. This ruling effectively brought’ about an end to over 480 days of Jerusalem’s political deadlock.
The court’s statement reads: “The legal conclusion that we have reached in no way detracts from either the severity of the charges about ethical breaches that are pending against Netanyahu or the inherent difficulty in the tenure of a Prime Minister who has been charged with crimes. But this outcome is derived from the law and, having said so—we must also cite that he continues to enjoy the presumption of innocence….The court’s role is limited to examining grounds for judicial review that are stipulated by the law. As such, when the court refrains from intervening on one appointment or another, one should only deduce, that the decision about the appointment is not against the law.”
It is important to mention that the verdicts were made unanimously by a panel of eleven justices, headed by Supreme Court President Esther Hayut.
Consequently, the Israeli parliament pushed through the final laws and amendments necessary to legally accommodate the coalition agreement for a national emergency government. Subsequently, members of Parliament Speaker Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party have signed a document in which they formally endorse Benjamin Netanyahu as their candidate for Prime Minister, which will shortly be submitted to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The Israeli head of state is now legally required to grant Netanyahu with 14 days to form the agreed-upon national emergency government.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Likud and Gantz’s Blue and White parties issued a joint statement in which they announced that they concluded the establishment of the government. The statement further announced that “The swearing in ceremony will be held next Wednesday, May 13th.”