Israel’s High Court of Justice has once again thrown out a petition aimed at preventing current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from receiving the mandate to form the next government, stating it was rejecting the petition as final election results had not yet been published.
The petition had challenged the High Court to decide whether Netanyahu would be allowed to receive the mandate, handed out by the President to the candidate deemed most likely to be successful in forming a government. The question was posed due to the indictments against Netanyahu over several cases of alleged corruption.
The Movement for Quality Government, an anti-corruption organization, has announced it will resubmit its petition following the publication of official results, expected on March 10th, stating it respected the court’s decision but would call upon the court for a verdict once again.
The hearing had been brought on by a petition signed by 67 public figures, academics and business leaders, which was submitted by attorney Dafna Holtz-Lachner.
The court had previously thrown out the motion at the beginning of January when it rejected the petition that sought clarification as to whether the Prime Minister would be able to be given the mandate to form a government, should he be successful in the coming elections.
The High Court declared it would not be discussing the issue before the election, stating that “at this time the petition is theoretical and premature,” and it would decide on the matter “at a later point.”
The court will most likely make a final decision should Netanyahu receive the mandate to form a government from President Reuven Rivlin.