Knesset plenum
Knesset plenumOlivier Fitoussi/Flash90

The Knesset on Wednesday rejected a proposal by MK Bezalel Smotrich of Yamina to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry into conflicts of interest among Supreme Court justices.

54 MKs voted against, 43 in favor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was absent from the vote, as were other MKs and ministers from the Likud, including Ministers Yisrael Katz, Haim Katz, Miri Regev, Yuli Edelstein, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, and Minister Ohana.

Shas Ministers Aryeh Deri, Deputy Minister Yitzhak Cohen and MK Moshe Arbel were absent.

Yisrael Beytenu opposed the establishment of a committee of inquiry.

MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) responded to the fall of the proposal. "Something has happened in Israel, the Liberman-Tibi-Yazbak-Lapid coalition and Likud runaways have joined forces to consolidate the High Court's power at the expense of sunlight and the clean hands of the judges. Sunlight cleanses, they chose to leave the State of Israel in darkness.''

The Yamina faction also responded, "Why do we vote Right and get Left? 11 votes were missing in order to establish a committee of inquiry on the judges. 13 MKs from Likud and Shas were missing at the instruction of Netanyahu and Deri. Don't tell us anymore that you are really for change in the judicial system."