Israeli attorney-general says Netanyahu's judicial overhaul 'illegal'

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel's Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Friday said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s involvement in judiciary overhaul is illegal.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Baharav-Miara's letter to Netanyahu informed him that his Thursday speech on his planned changes within the judiciary was illegal and "tainted by a conflict of interest."

She wrote to Netanyahu, saying: "As a prime minister accused of crimes, you must refrain from taking actions that give rise to a reasonable fear of the existence of a conflict of interest between your personal interests relating to the criminal proceedings and your role as prime minister."

The attorney-general also notified Netanyahu that he must not involve in the formation of the committee for selecting judges for the Supreme Court.

In a speech on Thursday, Netanyahu said the next week’s vote will take place on the selection of judges as part of the judicial reform plan.

"The law to change the appointment of judges (judicial reforms) will be submitted to the Knesset (the parliament) next week," Netanyahu said, noting that the bill "will restore the right balance between authorities."

Israel has been experiencing mass protests for the past 12 weeks against the government's judicial reform plan.

Proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the reform, if enacted, would be the most radical change ever in the system of government in Israel.

The planned change would severely limit the power of the Israeli Supreme Court, give the government the power to choose judges, and end the appointment of legal advisers to ministries by the attorney general.

However, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, insists that his judicial plan would enhance democracy and would restore the balance between the legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara