Netanyahu in contempt of court over conflict of interest - High Court petition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a week to respond to a petition to that contended the Likud leader is in contempt of court for breaking his conflict of interest agreement by announcing involvement in the judicial reforms, the High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday.

The petition, filed by the NGO Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), contended that Netanyahu should be fined, imprisoned or sanctioned due to his contempt of court.

The petition follows a Friday letter from Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to Netanyahu warning him that his Thursday speech was in violation of the conflict of interest agreement, said MQG.

According to the NGO, Netanyahu's speech was in violation of three court rulings that led to the adoption of the agreement, which conditioned his forming a government despite his ongoing corruption trials.

Netanyahu violated three court rulings

Netanyahu knowingly violated the agreement, said the Movement, which held that he couldn't involve himself in the appointments of law officials who could intervene in his trials. On February 1, Baharav-Miara declared that his involvement in the reforms, which would alter the Judicial Selection Committee, constituted a conflict of interest for the prime minister.

"A prime minister who disobeys the court and the provisions of the law is an anarchist and a privileged person," said MQG chairman Dr. Eliad Shraga. "Rule of law also applies to the government, and the prime minister will be forced to bow his head before the law."