Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn of the center-left Blue and White Party on Saturday vowed to work against the legislation of an override clause which would prevent the Supreme Court from striking down laws passed by the Knesset.
“There will be no court-bypassing law as long as I’m justice minister,” he said.
Speaking with Channel 12 News in his first interview since being appointed justice minister, Nissenkorn said, “I think the system today needs to be defended. Its public image has been tarnished, mostly without justification.”
Nissenkorn was seemingly referring to statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the beginning of his trial on corruption charges last month, when he attacked police and prosecutors, accusing them of politicizing the justice system in order to bring him down.
“The goal is to oust a strong right-wing prime minister and to banish the right-wing camp from leadership of the country for many years,” he said at the time.
Nissenkorn’s statement came just a week after the Supreme Court struck down as “unconstitutional” the 2017 Regulation Law, which granted the state the authority to appropriate private Palestinian land in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, with compensation to the owners.
The ruling reignited concern over the power of the Supreme Court, as well as the push by Netanyahu to extend Israeli law to parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
