The verdict was considered groundbreaking: Israel's highest court has decided not to prevent Netanyahu's further term in spite of a corruption charge. The government should now be sworn in on May 13.
Jerusalem (dpa) - Israel's highest court rejected petitions against another term in office of right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a coalition agreement.
The Jerusalem court thus paved the way for the formation of a government in Israel. The coalition agreement between Netanyahu's Likud and the blue-white center alliance is legally problematic, the unanimous ruling said. However, there is currently no reason for the court to interfere.
Regardless of a corruption charge, there is "no legal reason to object to the fact that the mandate to form a government is given to MP Benjamin Netanyahu," the verdict said.
Blau-Weiß and Likud then announced on Wednesday evening that the agreement on a joint coalition was perfect. The government should be sworn in on May 13. The coalition is expected to end a stalemate that has paralyzed Israel's political life for more than a year.
According to the Supreme Court's criticism, the Likud and Blau-Weiß had changed parts of their coalition agreement on Tuesday. Civil rights activists had rejected the Netanyahu agreement with Benny Gantz von Blau-Weiß after the election on March 2, which provides for a rotation in the Prime Minister's office, as illegal. Gantz's main reason for the pact with Netanyahu, which he had long refused because of the allegations of corruption against the Likud boss, was the corona crisis.
On Sunday, the court in Jerusalem discussed petitions demanding that Netanyahu not become head of government again because of the corruption charges. Prosecutor General accuses Netanyahu of fraud and infidelity, as well as bribery, and the trial is set to begin on May 24. The head of government has rejected all allegations.
Parliament must nominate a member of parliament to form a government by Thursday evening. It is now considered certain that Netanyahu will receive the order. Israel would have had to vote for the fourth time since April 2019 if the court had ruled the 70-year-old against another term.
A lawyer said on Sunday at Netanyahu's trial, "The court shouldn't rule on who can form the next government." A representative of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit also said he saw no reason for the court to interfere in the question, although the allegations against Netanyahu were serious.
The leader of the Movement for Quality Government, Eliad Schraga, warned that another tenure of Netanyahu would be jeopardizing Israel's rule of law despite a corruption charge. "We are in the middle of an earthquake."
Israel has already voted three times within a year. After that, a stalemate between the right-religious and the center-left bloc had long prevented government formation. Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party became the strongest parliamentary group in the March election, with 36 out of 120 seats.