The Supreme Court today (Monday) rejected a petition calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be held in contempt of court for involving himself in the negotiations on the judicial reform issue, but ordered him to obey the directive of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that he recuse himself from the issue in light of his corruption trial.
The court accepted Baharav-Miara's position that Netanyahu's actions did not rise to the standard of contempt of court, and stated that the petition's request did not match the situation. But it stated that all government officials and entities must abide by the rulings of the courts and the attorney general.
The Supreme Court clarified that Netanyahu remains bound by his conflict of interest agreement with former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit as long as the court does not release him from the agreement.
Earlier, Netanyahu addressed the judicial reform negotiations during the opening of the Knesset's summer session.
"We saw the support [for the judicial reforms] during the massive Thursday demonstration as well as the demonstrations on the other side. This is evidence of our vibrant democracy. We are determined to reach as broad an agreement as possible on the judicial reform that is at the heart of the public dispute in Israel," Netanyahu said.
"The majority of Israeli citizens understand that changes are required in the judicial system, this was also supported by the vote of a 64-seat majority government led by me. I believe that with the good will and genuine willingness of both parties - it is possible to reach these agreements,'' the Prime Minister added.