National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter Monday evening, setting the immediate dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara as a precondition for Otzma Yehudit joining the next government. Ben Gvir accused the attorney general of systematically obstructing government policy and attempting to fabricate criminal cases against ministers and senior officials.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a detailed letter Monday evening, setting the immediate dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara as a non-negotiable condition for Otzma Yehudit joining the next government. Ben Gvir wrote that he had identified early in the current government's term that Baharav-Miara was acting 'antagonistically' and 'unprofessionally' against the elected government, and that his earlier request to dismiss her was dismissed by Netanyahu who told him 'you are a young minister' and 'that's not how things work.'
Since then, Ben Gvir wrote, the attorney general had consistently worked to thwart the government's policies and attempted to fabricate criminal cases against ministers and senior officials, including the Israel Prison Service commissioner and senior police officers. He also accused her of trying to block the appointments of Generals David Zini and Roman Gofman to head the Shin Bet and Mossad, and of an unprecedented attempt to secure his own dismissal as a minister via the High Court without a criminal investigation or indictment.
The ultimatum comes hours after the Attorney General petitioned the High Court of Justice to order Ben Gvir's dismissal, citing ongoing interference in police independence. Baharav-Miara's petition was filed Monday afternoon, as The Zioneer reported. Ben Gvir's letter frames the attorney general's removal as a primary condition for any coalition negotiations, stating that without it, Otzma Yehudit will not enter the government.
The letter's allegations include claims of criminal conduct by the attorney general, though no formal charges have been filed against her. Ben Gvir's conditions reflect the deep rift between the coalition's right-wing factions and the legal establishment ahead of the elections.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake