In late March, the Knesset passed a law limiting the possibility of impeaching the prime minister (AP)

The Israeli Supreme Court postponed on Wednesday evening the application of a law limiting the possibility of removing the prime minister until the next Knesset (Israeli parliament), that is, after holding elections.

Israel's state broadcaster Kan said the Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority) ruled by a majority of 6 out of 11 judges to postpone the amendment to the law on the arrangement of the prime minister's immunizations.

This comes at a time when the Israeli opposition believes that the law provides protection for the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced trials and is still on charges including "bribery, breach of trust and fraud" according to the indictment filed by former legal adviser to the Israeli government Avichai Mandelblit at the beginning of 2020, Netanyahu denies these accusations, and says that "political persecution" targets him.

On March 23, the Knesset approved this law, which limits the possibility of removing the prime minister, and stipulates that the prime minister himself or only the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the prime minister "unfit to perform his duties due to his physical or mental disability" after which the cabinet vote must be ratified by a majority in the Knesset.

The Israeli Supreme Court canceled by a majority of its judges – on Monday – a key clause in the Netanyahu government's controversial "judicial reform" law, which reduced some of the powers of senior judges and sparked widespread popular protests, and criticized Netanyahu's Likud party for the court's decision and considered it "contrary to the will of the people."

The law, which was overturned by the court, could prevent Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court, from applying what is known as the "standard of reasonableness" to decisions made by the government or the Knesset that may be deemed "unreasonable."

The law, which Netanyahu has long defended, was part of a package of judicial amendments laws that sparked controversy and widespread protests on the Israeli street when it was pushed by the current government before the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies + Israeli Press