Justice Minister Yariv Levin asked the High Court of Justice on Sunday to cancel an injunction on his appointment of retired Judge Josefh Ben-Hamo to oversee the investigation involving former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit issued the temporary order last week, saying it was meant “to preserve the existing situation.”
Levin argued in his filing that “parties whom the Supreme Court disqualified from overseeing the investigation due to their involvement in the affair are taking the law into their own hands, ignoring their conflict of interest and petitioning the court to block the minister’s authority to appoint external oversight. There is no need to elaborate on the severity of their conduct and the concern it raises — that the purpose of this unprecedented move is none other than delaying and thwarting the investigation and preventing the pursuit of the truth.”
On Thursday, Levin formally informed the Civil Service Commissioner that he had appointed Ben-Hamo as the official overseeing the probe into Tomer-Yerushalmi. Shortly after the announcement, the civil society group Democratic Watch Israel said it had petitioned the High Court to halt the appointment. Amit then issued the temporary order freezing the move, which Levin called “a new peak of disgrace.”
In his appointment notice, Levin said Ben-Hamo would serve “until the attorney general’s bar on involvement in the matter is lifted.” The High Court has ruled that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is barred only from the investigative stage. According to Levin, she may return to handling the case once that stage concludes.