Overview
- The Knesset plenum elected Michael Rabello by a 61-57 second-round vote after a dispute over the first round left no winner.
- In the first round retired judge Yosef Elron received 60 votes and a blank ballot was found that could have been decisive.
- The second round was paused and restarted when opposition MPs said coalition members were filming their secret ballots, and the counting was supervised by the Knesset Secretary and Legal Bureau.
- Opposition parties and the Movement for Quality Government said they will ask the High Court to annul the appointment, arguing the process was compromised and noting Rabello’s past role as Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer.
- Critics warn the choice risks weakening independent oversight of the prime minister and could deepen public distrust in institutions, while right- and left-leaning outlets frame the result as either a legal victory for the coalition or a sign of democratic erosion.