Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the Supreme Court Thursday night, after the court announced that it had rejected a petition calling to bar Netanyahu from forming a new government while under indictment.
Speaking in Athens during a trilateral summit with the leaders of Greece and Cyprus, Netanyahu lauded the court’s decision to reject the petition, but added that the court, he believes, had no jurisdiction to rule on the matter in any case.
“The court acted correctly in rejecting the petition, but let’s make it clear: I think that the matter shouldn’t have been taken up by the court at all, since it is something for the people to decide who will lead them. It is the people’s choice and the people’s choice alone, not anyone else’s.”
Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (New Right) also expressed support for the court’s decision, while suggesting – like Netanyahu – that the petition should never have even been granted a hearing by the court.
“It’s good that the petition was rejected. Too bad it wasn’t rejected from the beginning. Even worse is that the court made clear allusions during the hearing and in its decision signaling that the court believes it can consider intervening in this matter in the future.”
“The petition should not have been rejected over the fact that it is theoretical and [submitted] too early – it should have been rejected because it deals with a political matter, and in political matters, the public is the one that decides.”
“It is important to clarify: the decision of the public, as expressed in the results of elections, is the strongest and best answer to questions of public faith. The public choose who to believe. No body, even the Supreme Court justices, can tell [the public] who they need to believe.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that it had dismissed the petition submitted by attorney Dafna Holtz-Lechner, with the endorsement of 67 former government officials, academics, and other prominent figures, including former Israeli Air Force chief Aviyahu Ben-Nun, former National Security Advisor Uzi Arad, former Shin Bet internal security agency chief Carmi Gillon, former Ben Gurion University president Rivka Carmi, businessman Dov Moran, and playwright Yehoshua Sobol, among others.
In its decision Thursday, the court hinted that it may be open to ruling on Netanyahu’s ability to form a government while under indictment after the election, and rejected the Likud’s argument that the issue was not justiciable.