Avichai Mandelblit (center)
Avichai Mandelblit (center)TPS

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit issued a legal opinion against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plans to normalize the legal status of an Israeli town in the Jordan Valley area next week.

Mandelblit notified the government of his opinion in a letter Thursday, informing the Prime Minister that, in the Attorney General’s opinion, Netanyahu’s plan to normalize the status of Mevo’ot Yericho next week would violate Supreme Court rulings which limit the powers of a lame-duck government during election season.

Citing court rulings, Mandelblit argued that during the period immediately before general elections, the government must refrain from taking permanent action when there is no clear immediate, pressing need.

Mandelblit added that he had consulted with the national security adviser to see if there was a pressing need to normalize Mevo’ot Yericho’s status two days before the election. The national security adviser said that there was no specific pressing need.

“Given what I have noted above, and since nothing has been provided to show a pressing need for the [government’s] approval two days before an election, it is the Attorney General’s opinion that the planned government decision does not meet the legal standards set by the [Supreme Court] ruling, and that it therefore may not be adopted at this time.”

Earlier on Thursday, the AG joined the Defense Ministry’s legal advisor to protest Netanyahu’s plans to normalize Mevo’ot Yericho this coming Sunday.

"There is a legal impediment to this decision during the election period. We were not presented with any evidentiary infrastructure or indication of the necessity or urgency to make the decision at the present time," the two stated.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu announced that he would push to normalize the Jordan Valley town’s legal status next Sunday, calling the move the first stage in implementing the planned annexation of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area after the election.