OCCUPIED AL-QUDS (Dispatches) -- Israel’s supreme court has begun hearing petitions against a key part of the rightwing regime’s judicial overhaul limiting the court’s powers, a development that could trigger an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
For the first time, a panel of all 15 judges convened on Tuesday to discuss eight filings aimed at striking down the “reasonableness” clause, passed by the Knesset in July, which abolished the supreme court’s ability to overrule the Zionist regime’s decisions.
The regime has indicated it will not comply if the court strikes down the law, which would mark the first time it had overturned a semi-constitutional “basic law”. Such a move would plunge the occupying regime of Israel into uncharted political and legal waters; the figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, has repeatedly warned of civil war.
Protesters gathered outside the court building in Al-Quds as the hearing began, banging drums, blowing whistles and chanting.
“We are already in a constitutional crisis: ministers have made no secret of their intentions to remove gatekeepers such as the attorney general and instead nominate people who will protect them,” said Noa Sattath, the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which filed an amicus brief to the supreme court along with 37 other human rights organizations.
“The supreme court says it will only strike down a basic law in exceptional circumstances. Our argument to the justices is that they need to look at the full picture here, not just a case by case basis.”
A ruling could be passed down at any time within the next four months, but the opening session of the hearing was watched closely for initial clues about which way the justices will lean. It comprises both liberal and conservative judges.
At the behest of his new extremist coalition partners, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu introduced a package of sweeping judicial changes when he returned to office in December. The legislation is aimed at curbing the influence of the supreme court, which the Israeli right has long alleged is biased and too powerful for an unelected body.
The planned changes, including limiting the court’s ability to overturn laws and giving politicians more control over judicial appointments, have been denounced by critics as a transparent power grab that will aid Netanyahu’s fight against corruption charges.
The “reasonableness” clause was the first element of the judicial overhaul to pass into law, despite eight months of sustained opposition from the biggest protest movement in Israel’s history.
The proposals have split the occupying entity along lines of religion, ethnicity and class, thrown the military into chaos, damaged