A bill splitting the powers of the attorney general into two separate positions — attorney general and prosecutor general — passed in its first reading in the Knesset plenum in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The bill, considered one of the coalition’s flagship legal initiatives, passed by a vote of 65 in favor and 47 opposed. The proposal will now be returned to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for further deliberations ahead of the second and third readings.

The bill was submitted by MKs Chanoch Milwidsky, Yitzchak Kroizer, and other coalition MKs and advanced in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee by its chairman, MK Simcha Rothman.

The proposal divides the powers of the attorney general between two roles: a prosecutor general who will head the public prosecution system and hold all authority in criminal matters, and an attorney general who will be responsible for legal advice to the government and oversee the prosecutor’s office in non-criminal matters.

The bill also regulates the appointment process, qualifications, and terms of office for the attorney general, seeking to avoid the current situation, in which the Netanyahu government is stuck with a hostile and corrupt attorney general—Gali Baharav-Miara— who was appointed by the Bennett-Lapid government. The government will appoint the attorney general based on the recommendation of the prime minister and justice minister, and the appointment will last for the duration of the government’s term.

The bill also outlines conditions for removing or suspending the attorney general—again avoiding a scenario that exists today, in which Baharav-Miara, an unscrupulous and politically tainted individual, has unchecked powers to rule the country.

The explanatory notes state that the evolution of the Attorney General’s role in Israel and its relationship with the executive branch has been the subject of public debate for many years. Supporters of the split raise two main arguments: first, concern over excessive concentration of power in a single governmental office, contrary to the democratic principle of separation of powers; and second, concern over an inherent conflict of interest, given that the Attorney General both advises the government and its ministers — requiring trust and cooperation — while also heading the system that investigates and indicts ministers, a role that requires distance from them..

Chairman Simcha Rothman said, “Approval of the bill in first reading is a significant step toward correcting a historic distortion that has accompanied Israel’s government system for many years. There is no other democracy in the world where the same person serves as prosecutor general, as the government’s legal adviser, and the one empowered to determine, in place of the government, what its position is. This move is intended to bring order once and for all to an area where an unusual overlap of powers has developed. The bill underwent thorough and extensive preparation, and we will continue advancing it with determination until the legislation is completed.”

Baharav-Miara delivered a scathing speech at the Israel Bar Association’s annual conference in Eilat on Monday, claiming that the bill splitting the attorney-general’s role is aimed at “crushing democracy”—rhetoric reminiscent of the left-wing protests that played a role in Hamas’s decision to carry out the October 7 massacre.

Supreme Court Justice Yitzchak Amit made a similar speech.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)