Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit
Attorney General Avichai MandelblitFLASH90

MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) slammed Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit over his stated intention to testify against the recently passed Regulation Law.

The Regulation Law, which was passed last month following the evacuation of the town of Amona, in Samaria, is intended to normalize the status of thousands of Jewish homes across Judea and Samaria, protecting them from ex post facto claims of land ownership made.

On February 8th, two days after the law’s passage, three radical left-wing organizations filed suit against the law on behalf of 17 Arab municipalities in Judea and Samaria.

Attorney General Mandelblit stated that he will not defend the government’s position in favor of the law, and will testify against it in the Supreme Court. However, he allowed the government to hire a private legal firm to support its position.

In a letter to the Attorney General, Smotrich criticized Mandelblit, suggesting his behavior harmed the democratic process.

“This is a move that is very problematic and unacceptable in a proper democratic state, and it is liable to harm the standing of the Attorney General as a trusted public servant. Therefore, you should refrain from this [step].”

In addition, Smotrich threatened that if Mandelblit does not comply with his request, he would push for legislation restricting the Attorney General’s discretionary powers.

“If there is no response to my letter, I will weigh my options, including proposing legislation which would prevent these kinds of absurdities, where a government official decides for himself to undermine [the government] in a very explicit manner; making a very loud and vocal campaign against the government and against the Knesset, to the point of even standing against them in court.”