Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Monday that he believes the controversial judicial overhaul legislation he and Justice Minister Yariv Levin have proposed to change Israel’s judicial selection process can be passed within the next month.

Speaking in the Knesset during a faction meeting of his New Hope party, Sa’ar claimed there were at least 70 MKs in Knesset who support the bill, and said there was no reason why deliberations on the far-reaching measure in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee should go beyond another month.

Sa’ar’s comments followed a report by Channel 12 news on Sunday that Levin is intent on ramming through the legislation in the next two weeks.

A source close to Levin denied that report, however, and said the legislative process for the bill could not be finished by the end of the month.

Levin and Sa’ar’s bill would switch out the two Israel Bar Association representatives of the nine-member Judicial Selection Committee and replace them with two lawyers, one to be appointed by the coalition and one by the opposition.

Appointments to the lower courts would be made by a simple majority, but would need at least one vote each from committee representatives of the coalition, opposition and the Supreme Court. Appointments to the Supreme Court would need at least one vote from the coalition and opposition, but not require a vote from a........

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