Mazuz: Israel's government may soon be declared 'transitional'

The country's uncertain political situation requires the government to use caution in exercising its authority, the attorney general said on Wednesday.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said on Wednesday that while the current government is not a transition government, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's imminent resignation following the Kadima primaries will soon make it such. These unusual circumstances thus obligate the government at this stage to carefully weigh the forcefulness with which it implements its policies, since the cabinet currently is beginning to operate as a transition government.

A Mazuz aide issued the statement on his boss' behalf after members of Knesset and a pro-settler legal group demanded the attorney general instruct Olmert to refrain from making any diplomatic or political moves on the peace front, whether it be signing an agreement or making any other commitments which would bind future Israeli governments. The petitioners also demanded that Mazuz forbid ministers who are winding down their tenures in office to appoint associates to positions within their respective ministries.

Mazuz's aide pointed out that the matter is a delicate one that is more suited for the political-public realm, and is less a legal question. The parliament's function is to supervise the government's activities, thus it would be in a better position to rein in any moves it would make given its status will soon be that of a transitional government, the aide said.