The bill to split the Attorney General's role in two may not pass before the Knesset dissolves, sources familiar with the matter told Kan Reshet Bet.
According to the Monday morning report, the main obstacle is the technical and legal complexity of the reform.
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee must review hundreds of statutory provisions that currently reference the Attorney General's role and determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether authority for each provision will be assigned to the Attorney General or to the proposed new position of Prosecutor General.
Beyond the extensive legislative work required to redistribute those powers, the sources noted that the committee has yet to complete the work on the exact wording of the bill itself and will still need to address hundreds of objections submitted by the opposition.
The bill passed its first reading earlier this month, but must still pass its second and third readings before it becomes law.
The decision to split the role of Attorney General was made during the previous Knesset, and planned by outgoing Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who received authorization from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara - who sits in office, despite being officially and legally fired - to do so. (Israel's Supreme Court later "overturned" Baharav-Miara's dismissal, despite lacking the legal authority to do so.)
At the time, the Justice Ministry said that Baharav-Miara does not intend on resigning, not due to the government's intent to split her position and not due to her opposition to new lawmaking initiatives.
Later, Baharav-Miara backtracked her agreement, claiming in a letter sent to Levin by Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon that, "There is serious concern that the proposal and its timing are intended to influence the Prime Minister's trial and additional ongoing criminal proceedings."
"There is a need to oppose the proposals on this issue and not to promote them. This is due to procedural and substantive reasons, including that these proposals constitute a regime change that is being promoted hastily, without conducting preparatory work, without consulting the relevant parties, and due to serious concerns that these are intended to advance significant personal interests regarding the existence of ongoing criminal proceedings and investigations, and regarding the appointment of the Attorney General."