Ohana preemptively strikes Court for questioning Netanyahu's eligibility
The High Court has set a hearing for oral arguments on the issue for Tuesday, following a petition filed by around 70 hi-tech officials.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBJustice Minister Amir Ohana speaks at The Jerusalem Post-Maariv Group Conference, December 25, 2019(photo credit: ALONI MOR)
cting Justice Minister Amir Ohana launched a preemptive strike on the High Court of Justice at the Maariv conference on Wednesday, for even daring to hold hearings on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eligible to form a new government in light of the bribery indictment against him.The High Court has set a hearing for oral arguments on the issue for Tuesday, following a petition filed by around 70 hi-tech officials. “Who decides who will lead Israel?...The jurists sitting at Saladin and the High Court?” – or the voters, asked Ohana. He continued with rhetorical questioning. “How can the High Court even hold a hearing about a Basic Law like this? I don’t know what they will decide, but that is not the question – the question is jurisdiction.”Ohana claimed that until Netanyahu is convicted and all appeals are exhausted, the Basic Laws maintain that he can remain in office without judicial interference. According to Ohana’s claim, which is supported by some top jurists, this would mean that the High Court cannot force out Netanyahu at this stage when he has only been indicted but is likely years away from a verdict.In contrast, other top jurists say that the Basic Law on the issue sets only a “ceiling,” by which the prime minister is automatically dismissed, but that there is also a “floor” where the High Court could fire him for a serious indictment like bribery, just as it has fired many other ministers upon indictment. The basis of firing these ministers has been that once indicted, they cannot maintain public faith in their actions as legal, ethical and free from conflicts of interest.Ohana appeared to counter these claims, noting that Netanyahu received more votes in the two rounds of 2019 elections than he did in 2015 – this despite that most voters knew he would be indicted. The state prosecution announced Netanyahu would likely be indicted on February 28, before the first two elections, but he was not finally indicted until November 21 after both elections. Former justice minister Tzipi Livni, who also attended the conference, expressed outrage over Ohana’s handling of the appointment of an interim state prosecutor. “This is a horrible saga,” she told the crowd. “This is one specific example within an over-arching attempt to change the character of our democracy. The state prosecutor is not intended to implement the policies of the government. Oy vey if Israel becomes a state where the ministers decide who gets indicted.”Livni lamented that Israel’s elections have become about Netanyahu. She said she looked forward to the day when elections would once again be about issues like security, human rights and whether there should be two states for two peoples.Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.
