Israel's SC says will not block controversial judicial law passed by Knesset

Israel's Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will not block the controversial judicial law passed by the country's Parliament by issuing an injunction, media reports said.This comes a day after the Israeli parliament passed the controversial judicial law which has cut down the powers of the apex court to block the government decisions.

The court said that it would take up the debate over the controversial legislation in September.Currently, several petitions are in the Supreme Court which seeks to gid rid of the law. One of the groups that have filed the petition includes the Israeli Bar Association.

Controversial bill passed in Knesset

With a vote of 64-0, the bill was passed in the Israeli Parliament or Knesset. All the members of the governing coalition voted in favour of the bill. Meanwhile, all opposition lawmakers staged a chamber walkout when the voting was underway.

Israel has been witnessing huge protests over the judicial overhaul with opposition calling it a coup. In view of massive protests, Israeli PM Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier delayed the judicial overhaul. “When there’s an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime minister, am taking a time out for dialogue,” Netanyahu had said while postponing the vote in parliament over the bill in March.

Netanyahu has been calling for the steps taken as part of the reform to rebalance powers between the courts, lawmakers, and the Israeli government.

The bill also comes at a time when the Israeli PM is facing a corruption trial. Many who do not support the law claim that Netanyahu wants to go ahead with the overhaul to safeguard himself from the trial.

The massive protests started in January and have been continuing since then. The protestors are persistent. As the law was passed in Knesset, the demonstrators who criticise the bill chanted, “We will not give up. We will not give up until it’s better here.”

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Israel Medical Association stated that the legislation “will have serious consequences for the health system, patients and doctors." Even if the law is passed in the Israeli Parliament, it still needs to be rubber-stamped by President Isaac Herzog, as part of the procedure under the nation's political system.

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