Israel’s cabinet voted to terminate the country’s attorney general, who it has been trying to oust for months, but the Supreme Court quickly issued an injunction to block the move pending a review of its legality.
Judge Noam Solberg said that process should take place no later than Sept. 4 and in the meantime the government must continue to work with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The cabinet’s unanimous decision to fire her with immediate effect cited “substantial and prolonged differences of opinion” between her and the government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not take part in the vote to avoid a conflict of interest —the attorney general oversees state prosecutors involved in his ongoing corruption trial.
Baharav Miara was appointed in 2022 by then-Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who now serves as Netanyahu’s foreign minister. He has since blamed her for turning against the government and preventing it from implementing its policies.
The Attorney General has drawn fire from Netanyahu’s government for insisting it abide by a court ruling that ends a decades’ long exemption for ultra Orthodox Jewish men from serving in the military, causing a rift between Netanyahu and some of his coalition partners.
She also thwarted his appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet security service after he removed the previous chief, arguing this was a conflict of interest because it was investigating his close aids over illegal ties with Qatar. They later agreed that the appointment would be delayed through mid-September.
Netanyahu’s opponents view the move to get rid of her as part of a wider attempt to shift more power to the executive branch.
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