The Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee is set to approve a bill proposed by its chairman, MK Simcha Rothman, that would block the Palestinian Authority (PA) from appealing or filing lawsuits in Israel’s Supreme Court.
The proposed legislation, an amendment to one of Israel’s basic laws, has garnered support from far-right and religious coalition members, as well as some opposition lawmakers.
Rothman explained that the bill aims to address what he calls a "distortion," allowing hostile entities like the PA, which he accuses of directly harming Israeli citizens through acts of terrorism, to petition against Israeli government policies. He pointed specifically to the PA's ongoing appeal to the Supreme Court regarding a law that would allow Israel to compensate terror victims or their families using taxes collected on behalf of the PA.
Rothman argued that as long as the PA continues to pay stipends to families of terrorists, it should not be allowed to seek the protection of Israeli courts. He also highlighted the importance of prosecuting members of Nukhba, Hamas' elite unit, for their involvement in the October 7 massacre last year, proposing the establishment of a special court to handle extraordinary crimes like genocide.
Rothman has been a key architect behind the current coalition’s efforts to reform Israel’s judiciary, a move that led to mass protests in the year prior to the October attacks by Hamas, with some suggesting that the protests over judicial reforms signaled weakness and emboldened the terrorist group to launch its assault.
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