The new government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled a controversial bill that would give politicians broad powers in the judiciary, Reuters and the Times of Israel reported.

The bill, introduced by new Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would allow a simple majority in the Knesset, Israel’s unicameral parliament, to overturn High Court rulings that strike down laws and would give the government control over the appointment of judges.

The proposal is the first major legislative project proposed by Netanyahu’s new government, considered the most right-wing in the country’s history, since it was sworn in last Thursday.

Israel’s far-right parties have been calling for changes to the judiciary for years, arguing that the Supreme Court has become increasingly active over the past three decades and is using powers it was never given to advance leftist agendas.

“We go to the polls, we vote, we elect, and every time the people we didn’t elect elect for us,” Levin said, referring to a ruling by Israel’s High Court. “This is not democracy,” he emphasized.

Rates of change proposed by the Netanyahu government

In Israel, the High Court has powers that in other countries are split between two courts, being also the highest court of appeal in the country, as well as the court that hears complaints against the government.

It plays an important role in maintaining control of the ruling coalition’s power, as Israel’s parliament does not have a second upper house that can review or block legislation, and the country’s president does not have the right to veto laws.

“What Yariv Levin presented today is not a legal reform, it is a letter of intimidation,” said former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, now the leader of the opposition, who also accused the new Netanyahu government of “threatening to destroy the entire constitutional architecture of the State Israel”.

The plan, unveiled by Levin late Wednesday, would allow the high court to overturn laws only under certain conditions, by an as-yet-undefined “special majority” of 15 members. But even these decisions can be canceled by the parliament with a simple majority of 61 out of 120 votes of Israeli lawmakers.

However, the Knesset will not be able to overturn decisions made unanimously by the judges of the High Court.

The Israeli opposition talks about a “loaded gun” on the table

The bill also changes the status of civil servants so that the opinions they issue on various regulations are no longer binding and abolishes the principle of “reasonableness” of regulations when the Supreme Court evaluates their legality.

Levin introduced the bill a day before the Supreme Court on Thursday began hearing petitions against his appointment of Aryeh Deri as interior and health minister in the new government.

Opponents of his appointment charge that it is unjustified and should be overturned because he was convicted of tax fraud last year after being convicted of bribery in 1999.

“Like a gang of criminals, the government put a loaded gun on the table a day before the Supreme Court heard the Derry Law case,” accused former Prime Minister Yair Lapid.