The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday voted in a proposal that will grant the prime minister unprecedented policy-making powers and authority.

The amendments to be implemented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may also have dramatic consequences for cabinet discipline amid reports of a possible military strike against Iranian nuclear fuel enrichment facilities.

The changes affect regulations dating back to the birth of the state in 1948, which determine the government's decision-making protocols in crafting policy.

Netanyahu will now have greater authority over voting and will be able to repeatedly raise proposals in ministerial committees, in order to eventually get them approved.

The amendments also allow for voiding decisions made by other ministers, vetoing decisions or overturning vetoes, as well as restricting voting to participants present in a given committee -- thus ending voting in absentia.

The new rules also permit the prime minister to attend any ministerial committee meeting, hold the same veto power as any other member, and would be able to make fateful decisions over the phone in a 12-hour period prior to its execution.

Finally, he will now be able to delay the implementation of already agreed upon decisions, as well as schedule further discussion on them.

The proposal, which passed with a large majority, sparked widespread criticism across the political spectrum.

"We are facing critical decisions and the attempt to weaken opposition only increases concern over the lack of judgment in these decisions," opposition chairman Shaul Mofaz said Sunday.

"Fateful decisions on political, security and socio-economic issues could be reached without meaningful discussion in the government, if Netanyahu gets his way," Labor party leader Shelly Yachimovich said.

"Netanyahu is forgetting that in Israel issues of this nature are not decided by just one person or even two," she added.

In response, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told the Ynet news site that the move is meant to "improve governance."

However, the website also reported that PMO legal advisor, attorney Shlomit Barnea Fargo, expressed reservations over the clause which enables the prime minister to undermine the decisions of the government-appointed committees.

She also voiced concern over a clause that allows scheduling unlimited additional discussions on ministerial decisions.