Basic Law: The Government חוק יסוד: הממשלה

הוראות מרכזיות

• Government is composed of a Prime Minister, who must be an MK, and ministers who need not be
• Government takes office upon a Knesset vote of confidence and falls upon a vote of no-confidence (constructive since 2014, opposition must name an alternative PM, following the 2001 reform that first required an absolute majority of 61 MKs)
• PM, with presidential approval, may dissolve the Knesset and call early elections
• Detailed regime for emergency regulations, declaration of war, and acting/interim governments
• 2014 amendment caps cabinet size and limits the number of deputy ministers

רקע

Originally enacted in 1968 codifying the British-style parliamentary model inherited from the Mandate era. Replaced in 1992 with a bold experiment, direct popular election of the Prime Minister, on a separate ballot from Knesset elections, used in 1996, 1999, and 2001. After that system fragmented the party landscape and produced unstable governments, the Knesset wisely returned in 2001 to pure parliamentarism (with constructive no-confidence later added by the 2014 Governance Law), which has provided greater coalition stability than the direct-election experiment.

תיקונים בולטים

• 1992: Direct election of the Prime Minister (in force 1996-2001)
• 2001: Full replacement restoring the parliamentary system (constructive no-confidence later added in 2014)
• 2014: Governance Law capped the cabinet at 19 members including the PM and limited deputy ministers; the cap was substantially loosened by subsequent amendments and waivers, and current cabinets have routinely exceeded it
• 2015: Norwegian Law made permanent, ministers may vacate Knesset seats so their party list backup can serve
• 2020: 'Alternate Prime Minister' framework created for the Netanyahu-Gantz rotation government
• 2023: 'Incapacitation amendment' clarifying that a PM may be declared unfit only on medical grounds and only by the PM himself or by supermajorities of the cabinet (3/4) or Knesset House Committee (2/3), narrowly limited by the Supreme Court in a 6-5 January 2024 ruling that found it an abuse of constituent power but read it as applying only from the next Knesset, sparing immediate invalidation

כיום

The law remains the operational backbone of Israeli governance. Ongoing debates focus on appropriate cabinet size, the 'Norwegian Law' that allows ministers to step aside from Knesset seats so backbenchers can serve, and the proper boundary between elected officials and judicial review of executive decisions, questions that go to the heart of Israel's vibrant democratic self-government.