In Israel - the executive is supreme

We often hear it said that Israel is a democracy just like the United States.

It isn't true.

Quite apart from Israel allowing only Jews and a severely restricted number of Israeli Arabs to vote, there is no balance of power as we have in the United States.

The Supreme Court of Israel may or may not be obeyed by the military and, if obeyed, it may be this year, next year or "we'll get back to you"

In the case of the executive, the Prime Minister can refuse to answer a call for an accounting of military affairs by the legislature (the Knesset). There is no power of subpoena so if Netanyahu decides to keep mum, so be it. This has been the case with the recent military incident near Eilat on the Red Sea.

For an excellent summary of the lack of legislative oversight, please read American Richard Silverstein's blog post about it.