JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court heard the first challenge Tuesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul, deepening a showdown with the far-right government that has bitterly divided the nation and put it on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
They say the court is a key counterweight on majority rule in a country with an otherwise weak system of checks and balances — with just one house of parliament where the governing coalition is headed by the prime minister.
His comment elicited an outburst from a back row by Tally Gotliv, a lawmaker with Netanyahu’s Likud Party, who shouted: “The Knesset sanctifies democracy.” Hayut swiftly reprimanded her.
Legal experts warn that could spark a constitutional crisis, where citizens and the country’s security forces are left to decide whose orders to follow — the parliament’s or the court’s.
The political survival of Netanyahu, who returned to power late last year while standing trial on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges, is also bound up with the overhaul.
The night before, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rallying against the judicial overhaul flooded the streets near the court, waving national flags and chanting for democracy.
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