Israeli supreme court strikes down controversial law curbing judicial powers
Shafaq News/ On Monday, Israel's Supreme Court invalidated a contentious law introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government. The law, part of a broader judicial overhaul, had sparked nationwide protests and raised concerns about democratic principles among Western allies.
The legislation, proposed by Netanyahu and his coalition of religious and nationalist partners, aimed to curtail the power of the high court and trigger deep divisions within Israel's political landscape. The court's decision may test the unity of the emergency government formed to handle the conflict with Hamas.
The law faced months of opposition and protests, with critics arguing that it undermined the judiciary's independence.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a staunch supporter of the legislation, criticized the court's decision as "extreme and divisive," reflecting the polarized state of Israeli politics leading up to the Hamas attack on October 7.
The new legislation sought to limit the Supreme Court's authority to overturn government and ministerial decisions by removing its ability to declare decisions "unreasonable." However, the court ruled that the law caused "severe and unprecedented harm to the core characteristics of Israel as a democratic state."
Given the internal divisions caused by the judicial overhaul, the court's decision may have broader implications. Some officials suggested that these divisions may have influenced Hamas' decision to carry out the October 7 attack. Netanyahu's Likud party expressed disappointment with the decision, claiming it opposed "the will of the people for unity, especially during wartime."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid commended the court's decision, stating that it marked the end of a challenging year of internal disputes that culminated in a tragic event in Israeli history. According to the court's summary, the government's amendment "completely revoked the possibility of carrying out judicial review of the reasonableness of decisions made by the government, the prime minister, and the ministers."
