Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is about to tackle a thorny question: Can Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keep running the country while testifying in court? She's due to present her take to Israel's High Court Sunday evening.
Netanyahu hasn't brought in his own lawyers yet, but if he and Baharav-Miara can't see eye to eye, he'll likely need to get some legal backup to make his case. Word is, the Attorney General might ask for more time to think it through – though don't expect the lawyers who filed the petition to be happy about any delays.
Behind the scenes, Netanyahu's team is weighing their options. One idea floating around is having him step aside just during the hours he's actually testifying, with Justice Minister Yariv Levin filling in as acting PM during those brief windows. The government's definitely not keen on Netanyahu stepping away for his entire testimony – and for good reason. If he's out for more than 100 days, the government would collapse and Israel would be heading back to the polls.
Right now, the plan getting the most traction is pretty straightforward: Netanyahu would hand over the reins for just a few hours on days when he needs to testify. It's a solution that would keep the government stable while letting the legal process move forward.
The approach they're leaning toward is looking like the sweet spot – it lets Netanyahu tend to his legal obligations without throwing the government into chaos. His office seems to think this could be the way to thread the needle between his duties as PM and his court appearances.
Jpost contributed to this article.
