Despite losing its majority in last month’s parliamentary elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is still in power in a caretaker capacity. That will continue until a new governing majority is formed – a process that could take months as Israel’s opposition struggles to form a coalition. And while he may be politically weakened, Netanyahu is reported to be weighing new military action against Iran, despite a lack of enthusiasm from the United States, his own military establishment, and the politicians vying to replace him.
But does Netanyahu’s caretaker government actually have the authority to send Israel back to war, and how would such a move be received at home? Officially, Israel’s caretaker government has the same authority as a regular government. Article 30 of the country’s Basic Law states that an interim government continues to carry out the same duties until a new one takes its place.
However, Israel’s Supreme Court has previously ruled that an outgoing government must avoid irreversible policy moves unless they are urgent – a principle known as the “duty of restraint”. In practice, Netanyahu can still initiate military action with the approval of his caretaker government, which he could present as “urgent and in the national interest”, Neve Gordon, a professor of international law at Queen Mary University, London, and the author of “Israel’s Occupation”, told Al Jazeera. Or Asher, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Tachlith Institute, told the news agency that security issues generally are “the clearest exception” to a caretaker government’s duty of restraint.
Ehab Jabareen, an analyst and Palestinian citizen of Israel, told Al Jazeera the government’s caretaker status raises the “political burden of proof”. On Wednesday, Israeli media reported that the security cabinet chaired by Netanyahu had ordered the military to step up preparations for an attack on Iran. That followed reports that Netanyahu has been repeatedly calling US President Donald Trump to press for a new military campaign against Iran, conversations that on at least one occasion became heated, according to Israel’s Ynet News site.
On Thursday, a US military official was quoted by KAN as saying that Washington had told Israel to get ready for a potential new round of confrontation. But the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) later dismissed the reports, telling Al Jazeera they were “mere speculation”. According to Israel’s Channel 13, the Israeli military establishment sees no urgent need to attack Iran.
It said that assessment had been presented to Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who has been tasked with forming the next government, during a briefing on Wednesday. The opposition has demanded that Netanyahu avoid any military action unless it is critical. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the opposition bloc, said the prime minister’s caretaker government must not “make decisions that could drag Israel into war without parliamentary oversight and without the full agreement of all security officials”.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
