Judiciary news
High Court Limits Comptroller's Oct. 7 Audits in Unanimous Ruling
Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously accepted two petitions against State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman's October 7 audit work, ruling that he exceeded his authority in four core security and policy reviews. Reports say the court barred continued work on probes covering Gaza policy, border defense, intelligence handling and political, IDF and Shin Bet conduct during the Hamas invasion and massacre. Four other reviews may continue only after fresh procedures that give affected officials a full right to be heard. The ruling preserves rule-of-law boundaries while keeping Israel's obligation to investigate failures, learn lessons and answer bereaved families with a proper state mechanism.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)Where It FitsJudges Again Urge Prosecutors to Drop Netanyahu Bribery Charge
The judges in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial again urged prosecutors to consider dropping the bribery charge in Case 4000 after Netanyahu completed his testimony for the prosecution. Israeli and international Jewish outlets reported that the panel repeated its concern that proving bribery remains difficult, while the defense pushed back against expanding the trial schedule and warned against turning the case into a five-day-a-week proceeding. The development matters for Israel because a high-profile trial of an elected prime minister must preserve both public trust in the courts and the presumption that prosecutors can prove every charge they keep.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Where It FitsNetanyahu Defense Fights Five-Day Trial Schedule in Jerusalem Court
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attorney Amit Hadad appeared in Jerusalem District Court on Monday to oppose the judges' order moving the defense phase of the corruption trial to five full hearing days a week. Hadad argued that the pace would deny Netanyahu a proper defense, comparing the only comparable five-day schedule he found to the Eichmann trial and saying he had warned the prime minister he could not prepare at that rate. Netanyahu told the panel Hadad had considered resigning and called the schedule a grave distortion of justice. Prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh also said five days is extremely difficult, while the court is trying to keep the long-running Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000 moving before Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman's March 2028 retirement.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Where It FitsHigh Court Grills Knesset Over Tainted Comptroller Vote; MK Gotliv Ejected From Courtroom
An expanded five-justice panel of the High Court questioned the Knesset on June 28 over Michael Rabello's election as State Comptroller, after Likud lawmakers were photographed documenting their ballots in the second round, which flipped a 57-60 loss into a 61-vote win. Justice Sohlberg said common sense dictates that voting itself must remain secret, and the panel issued a conditional order asking why the result should not be annulled. Speaker Amir Ohana rebuffed the court's proposal for a fresh vote, while Likud MK Tally Gotliv was removed from the courtroom by security after repeated outbursts. Defenders of the process, including the Knesset Legal Adviser, said no evidence shows members were instructed to film ballots, and Rabello cited Basic Law safeguards protecting comptroller independence.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsJudicial Selection Committee Convenes for First Time in 18 Months Under Levin
Israel's nine-member Judicial Selection Committee convened Sunday for the first time in roughly a year and a half, taking up appointments to magistrates, traffic and family courts in the northern and southern districts. Justice Minister Yariv Levin had refused to call the panel since January 2025, citing his lack of a majority for preferred candidates and the looming entry into force, after October's elections, of the 2025 Basic Law amendment restructuring judicial appointments. The High Court ordered him to convene after months of petitions. Israel now has 51 vacancies across magistrates and district courts, projected to rise to 67 by year-end, with the Beersheba District Court missing 5 of its 24 judges (21 percent of the bench) and Haifa missing 3 of 35. Sunday's session marks a partial thaw in a standoff that has stretched courts thin while the structural reform debate continues.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)(4)Where It FitsJerusalem Court Orders Netanyahu Graft Trial to Five Days a Week; Defense 'Shocked'
The Jerusalem District Court panel hearing Prime Minister Netanyahu's corruption trial announced on Sunday that it will expand hearings to five days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning October 4 after the High Holy Days. Lead defense attorney Amit Hadad told the panel his team was 'completely shocked' by the decision, calling it a 'critical injury' to the defense and stating, 'We will not be able to do that.' The acceleration follows Netanyahu's June 24 completion of testimony after 98 hearings across 18 months, and is driven in part by presiding Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman's expected March 2028 retirement at age 70. Proceedings have formally returned from Tel Aviv District Court to Jerusalem, where defense witnesses will testify. The defense said it would mount a full challenge when Netanyahu attends on Monday.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsNetanyahu trial enters defense phase after 98 testimony hearings
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completed 98 hearings of testimony over 18 months in Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, ending the cross-examination phase of his corruption trial. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly attacked the prosecution, while the Jerusalem District Court is set to move the case into the defense-witness phase.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsSupreme Court hears petitions to strike down Judicial Selection Committee reform
An 11-justice panel led by Supreme Court President Amit heard petitions against the March 2025 amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, which removes the Israel Bar Association's two seats on the Judicial Selection Committee and replaces them with lawyers selected by the coalition and opposition. Amit warned the reform would 'implant a political chip' in every judge, while several justices signaled skepticism toward key parts of the law.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsKnesset grants MK Tally Gotliv immunity, citing bad-faith AG indictment
The Knesset plenum voted 61-48 to grant Likud MK Tally Gotliv parliamentary immunity over wartime social-media posts, and 62-48 on the separate finding that AG Gali Baharav-Miara's indictment was filed in bad faith and in a discriminatory manner. The vote reaffirmed parliamentary independence amid the coalition's running confrontation with the politicized AG's office.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsHigh Court orders Justice Minister Levin to convene Judicial Selection Committee
The High Court ruled unanimously that Justice Minister Yariv Levin must convene the Judicial Selection Committee and publish a list of candidates for district-court vacancies in the official gazette by June 8, ending a year-long impasse over appointments. The ruling is being contested by the coalition as further evidence that the judicial-appointments process needs the structural reform already legislated in March 2025 — which takes effect with the next Knesset.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsKnesset establishes military tribunal to try Oct. 7 terrorists
The Knesset passed legislation 93-0 to create a special military tribunal to try roughly 300 alleged Hamas-led terrorists captured inside Israel during the October 7 invasion. The proceedings are slated to be filmed and broadcast, while Times of Israel reported that funding had not yet been finalized and Hebrew media put the Defense Ministry cost estimate at roughly NIS 5 billion.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsHigh Court orders enforcement sanctions against Haredi draft evaders
The High Court of Justice ordered the government to condition daycare and after-school subsidies, and to consider conditioning municipal-tax discounts, on draft compliance by yeshiva students who receive call-up orders. The court also ordered the state to pursue actual criminal proceedings against Haredi draft dodgers, criticizing the lack of enforcement.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsHigh Court petition filed against Religious Courts Arbitration Law
Israel Hofsheet petitioned the High Court against the March 2026 law expanding rabbinical courts' arbitration authority. The petition argues that the law is not merely another consensual dispute-resolution forum, but creates a publicly resourced state religious tribunal that could deepen concerns over equality, representation and the separation of civil and religious authority.
Secondary:(1)Where It FitsDeath Penalty for Terrorists Law passes the Knesset
The Knesset passed a law mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted by military courts of deadly terrorist acts, with lawmakers voting 62-47 after nearly 12 hours of debate. The measure, championed by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, allows judges to choose life imprisonment only in special circumstances and bars a right of appeal.
Secondary:(1)Where It FitsKnesset restores rabbinical-court civil arbitration powers (65-41)
The Knesset passed the Religious Courts Arbitration Law, sponsored by UTJ MKs Moshe Gafni and Yisrael Eichler alongside Shas MK Yinon Azoulay, restoring batei din authority to arbitrate civil matters such as employment and neighbor disputes with both parties' consent. Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef hailed the law as ending 'a terrible chillul Hashem' — the 2006 court-imposed restriction that barred Torah-based dispute resolution.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsSupreme Court issues injunction protecting Gaza aid-group operations
The Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction allowing 17 international aid agencies and AIDA to continue most Gaza operations while it considers their petition. The groups were facing a government ban under new Israeli rules requiring them to identify Palestinian staff; the order temporarily halted that closure while leaving the underlying vetting dispute unresolved.
Secondary:(1)(2)Where It FitsChief Rabbinate opens state rabbinical-certification exams to women
Following a High Court ruling, the Chief Rabbinate opened registration for state rabbinical-certification exams to women for the first time, with initial sittings slated for Iyar, between April and May. The exams cover halachic subjects such as kashrut, Shabbat and family purity, and the court said women must be able to take the same tests as men if the state uses them as professional credentials.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsMinisterial legal advisors bill clears Constitution Committee step
MK Avichai Buaron's bill to change the status of ministry legal advisers advanced in the Knesset after the coalition backed the measure. The proposal would reduce the attorney general's authority over ministerial legal advisers and make them more directly subordinate to ministry leadership, drawing opposition warnings that it would weaken independent legal oversight.
Secondary:(1)(2)(3)Where It FitsCivil marriage bill fails after Knesset Speaker Ohana votes for it
A civil-marriage bill proposed by the opposition failed in the Knesset, but Speaker Amir Ohana voted in favor, angering ultra-Orthodox coalition parties. The Times of Israel noted that Israel has no civil marriage inside the country, though it recognizes marriages performed abroad.
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