Netanyahu and Mandelblit
Netanyahu and MandelblitYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit submitted a supplementary response to the Supreme Court following the petitions over the prime minister's conflicts of interests related to the justice system.

In his statement, the attorney general stated that in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court, his legal opinion, including on the issue of conflicts of interest, is a binding legal opinion, as long as he has not ruled otherwise.

In his opinion, Mandelblit imposed extensive restrictions on Prime Minister Netanyahu on issues related to the law enforcement systems while he remains under indictment.

Mandelblit stated in his statement to the Supreme Court that his opinion on the prevention of conflicts of interest is a legal opinion, which binds all the arms of the executive branch and reflects for them the existing law, similar to his legal opinion on other issues, and is not merely a recommendation.

The attorney general asked the court to determine that the applicability of the restrictions derived from his opinion in relation to a conflict of interest does not depend on the good will of the official, for reasons of visibility or other voluntary reasons, but is warranted by the attorney general's interpretation of the law.

The supplementary statement further states that as long as the Prime Minister insists that he does not intend to act under this arrangement, in detail, it seems that there is no escape from further examination of the petitions, including the issuance of conditional orders against Netanyahu.