Israeli parliament speaker quits after clash with Supreme Court

Intro: Supreme Court had ordered a vote for speaker’s position; Vote could have led to anti-Netanyahu legislation

Jerusalem, March 25

The speaker of Israel’s parliament, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resigned on Wednesday, sharpening a battle with the Supreme Court over its concerns that democracy could be a casualty of the coronavirus crisis.

Yuli Edelstein’s resignation could facilitate plans by the opposition to fast-track legislation that would bar Netanyahu, as an indicted suspect in three corruption cases, from forming a new government following Israel’s March 2 election.

Edelstein, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, announced he was quitting in a speech to parliament, accusing the court of “gross and arrogant meddling” in legislative affairs by ordering him to schedule a vote for the speaker’s position at Wednesday’s Knesset session..

In the showdown with the court, Likud rallied behind Edelstein even as parliament’s legal adviser formally informed him he was violating the ruling, despite his resignation – noting it goes into effect only in 48 hours.

With Netanyahu’s opponents, led by Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party, holding a slim majority in parliament after the national election, Edelstein was likely to have lost his post if a vote had gone ahead.

Netanyahu, who has denied accusations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, made no immediate comment on the loss of an ally who could have run interference in efforts by Blue and White to pass laws weakening his 11-year grip on power.

Netanyahu currently heads a caretaker government and his critics have accused him of taking a turn towards autocracy during the coronavirus outbreak, an allegation he denies.

Citing social distancing requirements, the justice minister, a Netanyahu loyalist, limited judiciary sessions – a move that led to a two-month delay, to May, in the start of the prime minister’s trial.

The government has also issued emergency regulations allowing the Shin Bet counter-terrorism agency to monitor cell phone location data to alert people who had been near coronavirus carriers.