After stormy hearing, High Court urges sides to reach compromise on firing Shin Bet chief by end of Passover

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit encourages the government and the attorney general’s office to come to some form of compromise arrangement over the legal dispute surrounding the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, at the end of an 11-hour hearing on petitions requesting the court reverse the decision.

Justice Noam Sohlberg first suggests of his own accord that the government bring the matter to the advisory committee which appoints the Shin Bet chief to give its recommendation, as the attorney general herself told the government it must do before it fired Bar.

The judges then leave the courtroom to discuss their position. Upon their return Amit suggests the two sides come to an agreement as to how to resolve the dispute by the end of the Passover holiday. However, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, who has been present in court, insists an agreement be reached by the beginning of Passover which starts Saturday night.

“We are not setting a deadline, we are encouraging dialogue,” says Amit, adding that if the two sides fail to come to an agreement, the court will need to issue a ruling on the petitions against Bar’s dismissal.

Bar’s last day in office is supposed to be this Thursday, but it appears likely that the court will need to extend that date in order for the sides to mutually resolve the matter.