Israel Attorney General orders Netanyahu not to be involved with judicial reform

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, must stay out of his government’s plan to overhaul the legal system, the country’s Attorney-General instructed yesterday.

In a letter sent to the Prime Minister, Gali Baharav-Miara, explained there’s a reasonable fear of a conflict of interest due to his ongoing trial.

She wrote: “The application of the limitations established by the High Court of Justice ruling leads to the general conclusion that you must refrain in your role as Prime Minister from taking part in initiatives touching on the legal system, in the framework of the process termed ‘legal reform’.”

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“This includes any direct or indirect action or instruction through others, including the involvement of officials serving in your office as political appointees,” she added.

Netanyahu has been facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust since 2020, accusations he vehemently denies.

In response, Netanyahu’s Justice Minister, Yariv Levin, accused Baharav-Miara in a statement of “seeking to prevent the Prime Minister from voicing his positions” regarding reforms that, he claims, would have an impact on her authorities.

Proposed by Levin, the reform, if enacted, would be the most radical change in the system of government in Israel.

The proposed changes will severely limit the power of the Supreme Court, give the government the power to choose judges and end the appointment of legal advisers to ministries by the Attorney General.

The Occupation state’s longest-serving Prime Minister has formed the most extreme, ultra-nationalist coalition in the country’s history, which many have warned could see the collapse of democracy.

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