Court says Ohana not bound by rules binding PM, but cannot discuss picks with him

More from the court ruling backing up a conflict of interest position drawn up by the attorney general about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: While the three-judge panel accepted the heart of the petition from the Movement for Quality Government to force Netanyahu to abide by the opinion, the judges rejected a request to have the opinion apply as well to Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, who has acted as Netanyahu’s surrogate.

However, the court did say Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit should inform Ohana and other ministers in a position to appoint officials that could have an effect on Netanyahu’s criminal trial to not speak to the premier about those matters.

“A situation in which there is a sitting prime minister under indictment for serious crimes involving personal integrity is an extraordinary situation that requires extra oversight over the matter of forbidding those in public positions from finding themselves in a conflict of interest,” the ruling reads.