Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Coalition whip calls on PM to defy AG’s order not to tap new Shin Bet head
Coalition Whip Ofir Katz during a Knesset House Committee meeting in Jerusalem, January 14, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
After Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s legal opinion barring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from appointing a new Shin Bet chief, Coalition Whip Ofir Katz calls on him to defy the opinion.
Baharav-Miara said her decision is in light of today’s High Court ruling that the firing of Ronen Bar was unlawful since the premier had a conflict of interest due to ongoing Shin Bet probes into staff at the Prime Minister’s Office.
“I’ve never seen a legal opinion being prepared so swiftly, as if she had known the outcome ahead of time,” Katz says. “[We] mustn’t listen to the attorney general’s orders, [we] mustn’t play games with national security — [we] must make the appointment now.”
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