The government’s proposed legislation includes an “override clause” that would allow the smallest possible majority – 61 out of 120 lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament – to overturn rulings by the Supreme Court. Israel does not have a constitution, and the separation between the legislative and executive branches is very weak, since the government almost always holds a majority in the Knesset.

This makes the Supreme Court the only institution with any power to review government actions and legislation passed by a parliamentary majority. Netanyahu’s government wants to strip the court of that power.