The Knesset’s winter session came to a close on Wednesday, just over five months after it began on October 27.
The session was marked by the return of the judicial reform; unprecedented animosity between the government and institutions that limit its power – the Supreme Court, Attorney-General’s Office, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency); a deepening investigation into ties between the Prime Minister’s Office and Qatar; endless discussion but not much action regarding the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) IDF draft; the passing of the 2025 state budget; and a series of political maneuvers that have led to a stable coalition supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A hostage deal in January led to the release of dozens of hostages, but its collapse has left 59 hostages in Gaza, over 20 of whom are likely still alive.
Netanyahu's spats
During the session, Netanyahu began testifying in his criminal trial. The testimony began in December and is still ongoing. At the same time, the government launched an unprecedented procedure to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, who oversees the country’s law enforcement apparatus – including the State Attorney’s Office, who are the prime minister’s prosecutors.
The government based its decision on the claim that the A-G was intentionally contrarian and was intent on bringing the government down. The government repeatedly condemned legal opinions by the attorney-general even before the procedure to remove her began, but ministers increased their criticism since then, on the grounds that the A-G herself now has a vested interest in toppling the government.
The spat came to a head over Netanyahu’s decision to fire Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, which the A-G ruled was illegal due to the lack of due process and to the fact that the firing came after the “Qatargate” investigation had deepened.
The High Court will hear the petitions against the firing on April 8, but Netanyahu has hinted that he may not respect a ruling that kept Bar in place. A number of his ministers and coalition MKs outright called on the prime minister and government to ignore such a ruling. This led to the recent uptick in protests, and the reinvolvement of organizations that were heavily involved in opposing the judicial reforms in 2023 but had since faded into the background.
Throughout the session, Justice Minister Yariv Levin fought to postpone the appointment of Isaac Amit as Supreme Court chief justice. However, after he finally held a vote in late January, he and Knesset Constitution Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman proceeded to pass two controversial judicial reform bills.
The first bill gave the government de-facto power to appoint the next ombudsman of the judiciary, who is responsible for hearing complaints against judges. The second, based on a “compromise” announced in early January between Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, was changing the makeup of the committee responsible for electing judges, such that politicians or politically-appointed committee members now enjoy a majority in the committee. The second bill will only come into effect beginning with the next Knesset.
Levin has refused to comply with Amit, and a number of decisions that require cooperation between the two remain stuck.
Another front between the court and government is the haredi IDF exemption, which officially ended in June 2024, with a High Court ruling that there was no longer any legal basis for the exemption and that the government was legally required to draft all military age citizens, haredim included.
Since the ruling, however, just 1,700 haredim have joined the army, many of them who would have joined regardless of the High Court ruling. Out of 10,000 draft summons sent to haredim since the ruling, less than 1,000 have shown up so far, and only 205 have begun their service.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will continue preparing a new haredi draft bill during the Passover break, but with the draft numbers as low as they are, it is unclear what such a bill’s effect will be. In the meantime, pressure is growing on the government from reservists’ groups who represent soldiers who have served hundreds of days since October 7.
On the other hand, pressure is growing on Netanyahu from the government’s haredi flank to move forward with the bill that will grant many of their constituents a fresh exemption.
From a political standpoint, however, Netanyahu’s coalition still appears stable. Netanyahu signed a coalition agreement with Sa’ar, making the latter’s four MKs an official part of the coalition. The return of Otzma Yehudit to the government ahead of the passing of the 2025 state budget last week ended any doubts that the government would survive the budget’s March 31 deadline. The coalition therefore numbers 68 MKs at the moment.
However, the stunning speed of legal and political developments in recent weeks has shown that nothing can be taken for granted. Much can still happen by the Knesset’s summer session, which begins on May 4.