Shas chairman Aryeh Deri accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of spreading a repeated lie when claiming Shas refused to back the attorney general's firing, and placed responsibility for police violence seen this morning directly on the minister. Deri said all Shas MKs signed the demand to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has effectively been out of office for a year. Deri's comments were a direct response to a statement by Ben Gvir.
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri fired back at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Wednesday morning, after Ben Gvir accused Deri and Shas of blocking the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. In a sharply worded statement, Deri dismissed the claim as a 'repeated lie' and noted that all Shas MKs had signed the original petition calling for Baharav-Miara's removal. He said the attorney general 'has effectively been fired for a year,' alluding to her de facto sidelining — and charged that the real issue is police conduct under Ben Gvir's authority.
The exchange marks the latest escalation in an ongoing confrontation between the two coalition figures over the attorney general's status and the government's legal agenda. As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, Deri's statement follows a morning of political back-and-forth. Ben Gvir has pressed for Baharav-Miara's removal since the formation of the current government, while Deri — whose power base in Shas makes him a key coalition anchor — has argued that Ben Gvir is avoiding responsibility for police operations.
This morning's specific trigger — an incident of what Deri called 'severe police violence' — falls under Ben Gvir's remit as the minister overseeing the Israel Police. No further details about the incident itself have been confirmed. Deri's framing shifts the political focus from the attorney general debate to Ben Gvir's own ministerial accountability.
3 developments
- StrongProtesters disperse, Highway 4 reopens; Deri warns Ben Gvir over police violence
- DevelopingShas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur accuses police of selective enforcement against Haredi protesters
- StrongShas MK Azoulay denounces police violence in Knesset speech
- StrongDeri attacks Likud, says Arab MKs value Torah more than some coalition lawmakers
Source and signal
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- Internal intake