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Israel top court weighs rules on removing prime minister

Israel's Supreme Court president Esther Hayut and judges hear petitions against a law restricting how a prime minister can be removed from office
— Jerusalem (AFP)

Israel's top court heard appeals Thursday against a law restricting how a prime minister can be removed from office, as current premier Benjamin Netanyahu faces protests against the government's judicial overhaul.

The hearing got underway as Israel is deeply divided over the judicial reforms, which have triggered one of the country's biggest ever protest movements against the hard-right government.

Eleven of the Supreme Court's 15 judges heard three appeals against the incapacity law that was passed in March as an amendment to one of Israel's Basic Laws, the country's quasi-constitution.

Under the law, a prime minister can only be declared unfit for office by themself or a two-thirds majority of the cabinet, and the decision must be supported by at least 80 of parliament's 120 lawmakers.

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