Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein of the Likud on Wednesday rejected the High Court of Justice's demand that he hold a vote for his successor and instead quit the post and adjourned the plenum. The five-judge bench had ruled unanimously earlier in the week that Edelstein's refusal of the Blue and White Party's request to convene the plenum for a vote on a new speaker subverted the foundations of the democratic institution. In his response to the court, Edelstein claimed that the court ruling violated the concept of separation of powers, interfered with coalition talks and would "prolong the country's political paralysis." 

KAN's Naomi Segal asked Dr. Amir Fuchs, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, to explain the Knesset speaker's actions, and the implications.