Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) delineated the main goal of his faction for the winter session of the Knesset Monday.
"There are judges in Jerusalem who forgot that there is also a government in Jerusalem, so our main goal in the coming session is to pass the constitutional plan, at the center of which is the cessation clause that will restore power of governance to the government."
He added that "in recent years the Supreme Court has placed itself above the legislature instead of next to it.In recent years, the Supreme Court has deviated from its authority and has begun to disqualify laws with too light a hand. In recent months, the Supreme Court has overturned laws and Knesset actions at an unprecedented rate.
"Three times the Supreme Court overturned the outline for removing infiltrators from Israel, and the Supreme Court overturned the canceling of the residency of Hamas members in East Jerusalem.The third apartment law was disqualified; the biannual budget law; the Regulation Law is frozen;The draft law was canceled;The corporation law is frozen and more.The Supreme Court is not supposed to intervene to determine if a law is appropriate or not; that's the Knesset's authority," Bennett firmly asserted.
"I don't particularly like some of the laws, but the Knesset is the sovereign. Members of the Knesset were elected by millions of Israeli citizens, and the Supreme Court cannot annul the will of the people just because it does not see eye-to-eye with a law.
"The Supreme Court is entitled to intervene only when it comes to the tyranny of the majority, governmental tyranny vis-à-vis the individual, and this is not the case, for example, with nullifying the Third House law. Not everything is adjudicable, not everything is 'bagatzable'. The time has come to determine exactly when the High Court is entitled to invalidate a law of the Knesset or a government action. This mustn't be left ambiguous.
"Therefore, we intend to bring the 'Basic Law on Legislation'.In the Basic Law on Legislation, we will define, for the first time in Israeli law, the possibility of the High Court invalidating laws (which is already being done anyway) and defining under what conditions.
"The law will also include the 'cessation clause' to grant the Knesset the ability to entrench a law so that the Supreme Court can't annul it.This is done by a majority of Knesset members.This is a supreme interest of the State of Israel, it will strengthen the State of Israel and we will work to enact it.
"On a similar subject, yesterday we were surprised by the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of destroying the homes of Nativ Ha'avot in Gush Etzion.The verdict is puzzling and outrageous and causes unnecessary destruction with no logical purpose.The residents of Nativ Ha'avot are among the best sons of Israel who in reserve duty serve in combat units, pay taxes, live in permanent homes.There is a serious injustice here and we are working energetically to bring about a solution.We will need the Prime Minister's help."