Smotrich: Judicial rope choking settlers will hang on PM’s neck

The Right cried foul and judicial bias, and charged that the High Court of Justice was attempting to interfere with upcoming sovereignty plans, as it railed against Tuesday’s judicial ruling to void a law that would have retroactively legalized 4,000 settler homes.

Among the harshest critics was MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina), who spoke against judicial dictatorship and warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would be toppled by that same dictatorship.

“Mr. Prime Minister, the rope that stretches around the neck of the settlement today is the same rope that will be tied to your neck. Do not expect justice,” Smotrich said in reference to Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges.

Right-wing politicians and settlers have long argued that the High Court discriminated against them, particularly with regard to land cases involving Palestinians.

One of the signature hallmarks of the last Netanyahu government was an attempt by former justice minister Ayelet Shaked to revolutionize the judiciary system so that it was more likely to favor settler rights in Judea and Samaria in the name of the public good. The 2017 Settlements Law, voided Tuesday by the court, was a signature piece of legislation that reflected that outlook. It authorized 4,000 settler homes built on private Palestinian property, while offering the landowners compensation.

As part of that argument, they also contended that the High Court had too much judicial power and as a result had usurped powers to set policy for the state, which should instead be done by the Knesset and government.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein immediately tweeted that “the High Court has lost it and has appointed itself to be the