Coalition party leaders meet on renewal of judicial overhaul, potential firing of AG

Coalition party leaders begin a meeting on a number of topics including the renewal of the contentious judicial overhaul and the potential firing of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Hebrew-language media reports.

Unnamed senior coalition officials tell the Ynet news site that if a majority in the forum agrees to dismiss Baharav-Miara, Justice Minister Yariv Levin will raise the issue for discussion with the cabinet.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly not to be present for that discussion due to his conflict of interest arrangement, which requires him to steer clear of decisions on judicial matters that could influence his criminal trial for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.

Last night Levin indicated plans to revive the government’s frozen judicial overhaul program, posting on Facebook a lengthy attack on the High Court of Justice in which he accused it of usurping the Knesset’s legislative role and the government’s executive powers.

Levin’s comments, if followed through on, appeared to have the explosive potential to reignite the hugely divisive conflict over the judiciary that tore Israeli society asunder throughout much of 2023, before it was frozen following Hamas’s onslaught of October 7 of that year and the still-ongoing multifront war that followed.

In the summer of 2023, Netanyahu was reportedly warned by the heads of the IDF and the Shin Bet that Israel appeared increasingly vulnerable to attack due to the country’s foes viewing the deep societal strains over the government’s judicial overhaul push as an opportune time to strike.