A decision by an Israeli court or Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to declare Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit for office could lead to a civil war, possibly involving armed conflict, Minister of Regional Cooperation Dudi Amsalem warned in an interview on Wednesday.
“This would be a coup par excellence. In my opinion, it would lead to civil war, not with weapons initially, but physical confrontations between citizens. It could escalate to worse,” the Likud Party member, who also serves as a minister in the Justice Ministry and as liaison between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Knesset, told the Galey Israel Radio station.
“We will not let this happen. The public will spontaneously prevent it,” he said of the scenario of Netanyahu being removed from office or even taken to prison as part of his criminal trial, in which he is set to start testifying next week.
Accusing the Jewish state’s legal establishment of trying to “destroy democracy,” Amsalem suggested the public could prevent judges from entering their chambers, among other actions that could be taken. “No problem. We can do this step by step,” the minister said in the interview.
According to Amsalem, a scenario in which Netanyahu would be arrested is hardly imaginary. “These days, I can imagine anything,” he told Galey Israel. “Look at what happened: The head of the Israel Prison Service, the IPS Chief Commissioner [Kobi Yaakobi], they [investigators] approached him with masks on and detained him in the middle of the street.”
Yaakobi was taken for questioning by undercover agents on Monday morning while being driven to work, as part of a corruption probe.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, rejected a petition that sought to declare Netanyahu unfit to serve as he fights corruption charges at the Jerusalem District Court.
Netanyahu’s testimony in the case is set to begin on Tuesday morning at an underground courtroom in Tel Aviv due to concerns for his security due to the threats on the Jewish state’s southern and northern borders.
The longtime prime minister was indicted for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust in January 2020. Netanyahu has denied all wrongdoing.
In July, the court set Dec. 2 as the start date for Netanyahu’s deposition. Late last month, the premier was granted an eight-day postponement.
