Tel Aviv, 28 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in an interview with CNN on Friday that his country could enter "uncharted territory" should the Supreme Court overturn the new law that strips the court of its power to block government decisions.

"What you’re talking about is a situation, or potential situation, where in American terms, the United States’ Supreme Court would take a constitutional amendment and say that it’s unconstitutional" Netanyahu said.

"I hope we don't get that," he said without commenting on whether his government would abide by a Supreme Court ruling.

Israel's right-wing religious government accuses the judiciary of having too much influence on political decisions and it therefore wants to weaken the court.

The law prevents judges from categorizing decisions made by the government or individual ministers as "inappropriate."

Israel has no constitution and is instead based on a collection of basic laws. The abolition of the so-called "reasonableness" standard is an amendment to one of these basic laws.

In September, the Supreme Court plans to deal with petitions against the law. It is unclear how it will rule.

In Israel's history, no comparable law has ever been overturned by the Supreme Court. If the court were to oppose the government's law, this could lead to a kind of constitutional crisis, as responsibilities would no longer be clearly defined.

In an interview with ABC News, the prime minister said that it was merely "a minor correction" to an "activist" court.

He carried on describing the concerns of opponents as "silly."

Opposition politician Benny Gantz remained critical of Netanyahu. "In a democratic country, a prime minister respects court decisions and acts on them, no matter how much he disagrees with them," Gantz wrote on Twitter. Anything else would be a "coup d'état."

The legislation in question is part of a broader government bill aimed at weakening the country's independent judiciary.

Experts see this as a threat to the separation of powers and thus to democracy.

The changes are also being made in part due to pressure from Netanyahu's strictly religious coalition partners.

According to experts, however, they could also play into Netanyahu's hands in a corruption trial that has been ongoing against him for some time.

Another core element of the project - a change in the appointment of judges - is to be put on the agenda in the autumn.

Photo: MIA archive