Supreme Court to hear hostage families' petition against PM without State response

The state will not provide a written response to the hostage families’s petition to the Supreme Court accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of alleged illegal conduct.

The hearing on the petition submitted by the hostage families to the Supreme Court, claiming that Netanyahu is making decisions regarding the fate of the hostages which contravene the law, will take place without a written response from the prosecution.

This decision, made by the acting Chief Justice, is unusual, Walla noted in their report. According to the usual procedure in the Supreme Court, after a petition is submitted, the prosecution representing the state responds in writing – and only then is an oral hearing held.

In this case, the Prime Minister and his office are represented by the prosecution and the Attorney General, who held two meetings but reportedly could not formulate a written response as normally required. Instead, they requested several extensions until Justice Yitzhak Amit proceeded with the hearing without their written response.

Court criticizes prosecution

Seemingly, by doing so, the court has criticized the prosecution and the Attorney General.

However, some may interpret this differently: Justice Amit understood that there was little chance of reaching an understanding between the representative, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, and the represented, Netanyahu, and therefore he essentially absolved them of responsibility.