Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuMiriam Alster/Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made it clear on Tuesday that recent criticism of the prosecution and Supreme Court is legitimate.

“A stable democracy does not force (demands) upon those who safeguard it. I respect the courts and the judges, and honor their decisions. It is every person’s full right; mine included, to critique those decisions. In a strong democracy, no institution is above critique,” Netanyahu said at the cornerstone laying ceremony of the National Library in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu also hinted that his criticism of the High Court’s decision regarding the gas deal is legitimate.

He added that “Our neighbors do not tolerate criticism; not of the courts and not of the government. Where criticism cannot be sounded, especially in unusual and exceptional times where it is necessary and appropriate, democracy is adversely affected. The dialogue must of course be to the point, not tempestuous, and it must enable profound discourse at all times, out of mutual respect… This is how I have operated, and this is how I will continue to operate.

The Prime Minister also responded to the laying of the library’s cornerstone and indicated that the event serves as a further platform separating Israel from its neighbors.

“The library is the focal point of intellectual freedom. This is no trivial matter these days in the Middle East. In tyrannical regimes, the greater public is denied access to libraries, if they exist at all. Contrary to Islamic extremists who destroy cultural treasures, we safeguard our cultural treasures.”