Two of the four new Supreme Court judges who will be selected by November 24 must be women, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli told her Labor faction on Monday.
There are currently twice as many males as female judges on the court, she said.
The Judicial Selection Committee, which includes Labor MK Efrat Rayten, released a list of 24 candidates on Sunday.
The state budget has yet to be passed into law, and elections could still be automatically initiated if it does not pass into law by the November 14 deadline, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Monday at his Yesh Atid faction meeting.
“We all have a responsibility to avoid unnecessary conflicts and keep the coalition together,” he said. “This government is a fragile miracle. Without passing the budget, we don’t have a government, and no one will achieve their dreams. So don’t start fights on Twitter; it’s not worth it.”
Lapid was responding to coalition MKs who criticized Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz for meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and leaving a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet to go to Ramallah.
“We have a working relationship with the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “You can’t say Nitzan Horowitz doesn’t work against the coronavirus.”
Lapid praised Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope) for authorizing a probe of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the so-called Submarine Affair.
“It is Israel’s worst corruption case ever, and it must be probed,” he said. “A commission of inquiry is the way to do it.”