BICOM

During a discussion yesterday of a petition submitted by Yesh Atid, High Court justices indicated that they will rule against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also serving as a minister, a decision which could have a profound impact on Netanyahu’s government.

Following his election victory in March, Netanyahu established a government after prolonged negotiations both within his own Likud Party and with coalition partners, in order to assign ministerial portfolios. Netanyahu decided to retain responsibility himself for the foreign ministry, health ministry, communications ministry and regional affairs ministry, appointing only deputy ministers for each portfolio. It is assumed that Netanyahu is holding at least some of these positions as a potential bargaining chip to woo future coalition members.

Yesterday, the High Court of Justice heard a petition submitted by Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, against Netanyahu’s decision to appoint himself as health minister and United Torah Judaism’s Ya’akov Litzman as Deputy Health Minister. Considering the petition, Judges Elyakim Rubinstein and Hanan Melcer said that the situation in which the prime minister also serves as a government minister cannot continue. Melcer said that such a scenario contravenes one of Israel’s Basic Laws, which effectively carry constitutional weight. The judges recommended that Yesh Atid amend the petition to include an objection to Netanyahu holding any ministerial portfolio, not only that of health minister.

The comments caused consternation in government circles. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told Israel Radio that there is plenty of historical precedent for the prime minister to also serve as a minister, going back to the country’s first premier David Ben Gurion.

Should the High Court eventually rule against Netanyahu’s multiple portfolios, it would likely increase the determination of some government MKs to restrict the powers of the courts. It would also hand Netanyahu the difficult task of filling ministerial portfolios, which would inevitably leave at least some existing coalition allies disgruntled. It would also make it harder for Netanyahu to add new partners to his government in the future.