Coalition leaders plead with Netanyahu not to comply with Supreme Court ruling over the dismissal of Minister Ben Gvir
In an official letter sent to the Prime Minister, the heads of the parties wrote that the Supreme Court does not have the legal authority to force the dismissal of a minister in the government
The heads of the coalition factions sent a letter today to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which they declared that they reject the position of the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, according to which Netanyahu must provide an explanation as to why he is not dismissing the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
The coalition leaders wrote in a letter: "The attempt by the dismissed Attorney General to fire a senior minister in the government is an attempted coup against democracy. We will stand as a solid wall against the baseless dismissal of a government minister."
They also wrote: “No legal authority, including the Supreme Court, has the power under the law to force the dismissal of a government minister, especially when not even an indictment has been filed against them. We will not allow this. Only the people will choose the government, and only the people will decide at the ballot box who their representatives are.”
The letter was signed by Coalition Chairman Ofir Sofer, Finance Minister and Chairman of the Religious Zionism Party Bezalel Smotrich, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National Unity Party Gideon Sa'ar, and Ben Gvir himself. Additionally, Minister Ben Gvir approached Shas Party Chairman Aryeh Deri, asking him to sign the letter as well. Deri responded that while he agrees in principle with the content of the letter, he refuses to sign it since the Shas Party is not part of the coalition.
The statement by the coalition leaders to the Prime Minister comes against the backdrop of the Attorney General’s petition to the High Court of Justice earlier this month, demanding the issuance of a conditional order that would require Netanyahu to explain why he has not dismissed the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, as part of the petitions to the High Court against the minister's tenure.
In her petition to the High Court, the Attorney General wrote: "It is not possible to protect the public from the systematic conduct that undermines the independence of the police, which endangers its nature as a national and apolitical body."
Prime Minister Netanyahu said in response to Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, during a heated cabinet meeting last week, that he does not intend to fire Ben-Gvir.