The government on Monday unanimously approved the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who did not attend the meeting or send anyone on her behalf.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also absent from the discussion, in which 22 ministers voted in favor of the dismissal.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin argued in the discussion that "it is impossible to accept a situation in which the court would try to impose on the government a legal advisor who is completely political, who the government does not trust and does not cooperate with, who is obstructing the government and refusing to represent it." Levin added that "contrary to everything claimed in the attorney general's letter, the government went through a very long process before we reached today's discussion."
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Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu, fired Attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara
(Photography: Alex Kolomoisky, Sariya Diamant Paul Haaretz, Shaul Golan, Rafi Kutz)
"For a very long time, attempts were made to cooperate with her. It's not that on the first day of the government we tried to oust her. Beyond that, the process in her case lasted several months. First, with the motion to express a no-confidence vote in the attorney general. We gave her every opportunity to express her position. She did not address the claims substantively at any stage," he said.
Levin explained that the process began with claims by ministers and the government secretary against Baharav-Miara, continued with "the first document that spread over almost 900 pages, detailing the claims in her case," and continued "with the government's discussion of the motion of no-confidence in her and the discussion on the establishment of the ministerial committee, then with the two hearings in the ministerial committee, and then also with the government's hearing."
Levin noted that, in all these cases the attorney general did not appear or send a representative on her behalf, adding that "this indicates her deep contempt for the government. If people you are supposed to work with in a relationship of trust feel this way, and you think it is unjustified, come and respond to the allegations."
After the government's approval, the Yesh Atid faction announced that it had petitioned the High Court of Justice against the government's decision. The petition stated that the decision was made in an illegal process, bypassing all review mechanisms, and was intended to harm the independence of legal advice and subordinate it to political will. Knesset lawmaker Karin Elharar, a member of the Constitution Committee who signed the petition's affidavit, said that "the government does not want legal advice, it wants obedience, it chooses to give up on the rule of law, and we choose to fight for it and for democracy."
The Movement for Quality of Government organization also announced that it had petitioned the High Court of Justice "with more than 15,000 petitioners."
They added that they had already petitioned the High Court of Justice in June against changing the dismissal mechanism, saying that "the petition exposes the blatant flaws in the decision, including a clear conflict of interest of the prime minister, who is accused of crimes, and 'marking the target around pressure.' Politicians must not be allowed to turn the role of legal advisor to the government into a political role - the legal struggle will continue until the invalid decision is overturned."
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Protest against the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
At the same time, the organization submitted an urgent request to the High Court of Justice - "to immediately freeze the dismissals." Attorney Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government, said that "we have never witnessed such a serious move to violate a court decision in such a blatant and clear manner. The government is working to establish irreversible facts on the ground while significantly harming judicial authority and the rule of law. The illegal move constitutes an unprecedented harm to the independence of the legal advice institution and the system of checks and balances of Israeli democracy. The government must not be allowed to continue this move for another moment."
About two weeks ago, Supreme Court Deputy President Justice Noam Solberg ruled that any decision the government makes to dismiss Baharav-Miara will not take effect immediately . Solberg made it clear in his ruling that "sufficient time is required for judicial review."
Earlier, Baharav-Miara sent a letter to ministers, accusing them of firing her "illegally." She also wrote that "the allegations made by the Minister of Justice show that he is looking for a legal advisor who will obey the government and legalize violations of the law for it, such as avoiding the recruitment of yeshiva students, political interference in police investigations and more. The dismissal has the potential to affect the criminal proceedings against the prime minister and criminal investigations of other government members and associates."
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At the same time as the meeting in which the government members approved the dismissals, dozens demonstrated in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office against the "coup" being conducted by his government and the continuation of the war in Gaza.
Opposition lawmaker Yair Golan spoke at the demonstration, saying that "Evyatar David and Rom Breslavski are not certain to survive another day in captivity, but beyond the fences surrounding the nearby building, a government meeting is taking place that is not concerned with their release, nor with ending the war, nor with Israel's security, nor with an alternative government to Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli government is concerned only with itself."
The meeting that took place Monday was supposed to convene last week, but had been postponed. Baharav-Miara also did not attend the hearing that was held for her because she did not see it as a legal process. Urgent petitions are expected to be submitted to the High Court of Justice, which is expected to order a conditional order to freeze the impeachment, until the petition and the subsequent ruling are clarified. During this time, all of the attorney general's powers toward all government bodies will be preserved. It is also estimated that the High Court will hear the petition with an expanded panel of judges, as the dismissing of the country's senior gatekeeper is unprecedented.