Far-right allies Ben Gvir and Smotrich turn on each other over firing AG, passing budget

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir launches a scathing attack on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing him of preventing the revival of the government’s judicial overhaul and the ouster of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

“Smotrich’s game is revealed tonight,” Ben Gvir states, calling Smotrich “a man who talks right-wing in public, but in practice saves the attorney general from dismissal, stops judicial reform, and saves the Palestinian Authority from economic collapse.”

“We were elected to govern. There is no point in passing a state budget without firing the attorney general,” he says.

After a planned meeting of coalition chiefs on the topic of firing the attorney general was cancelled, Ben Gvir threatened to begin voting against the coalition, citing its refusal to submit a resolution on Baharav-Miara’s termination. His party subsequently voted against the budget in the Knesset plenum.

Ben Gvir is reportedly circulating a joint statement announcing that a no-confidence vote against the attorney general will be voted on by the cabinet at its weekly meeting next Sunday, drawing opposition from Smotrich, who earlier stated that the government’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s judiciary ought to remain on hold until after the war.

Speaking with the press at the Knesset following Ben Gvir’s statement, Smotrich says that the coalition had managed to pass the state budget framework bill and would soon pass the budget and Arrangements Bills “even without Ben Gvir and his colleagues who, unfortunately for political reasons” are voting against “a good budget that addresses all the needs of the war on the front and in the rear until victory.”

“It is a shame that there are those who are willing to undermine a good right-wing coalition” that has the chance to “make history” with the Trump administration on issues ranging from Iran to the settlement of the West Bank, he says. “It is a shame to undermine the coalition because of nonsense.”

Following Smotrich’s statement, Ben Gvir responds by saying that if his former ally “joins the coalition leaders’ agreement” and announces the end of his opposition to bringing a decision to fire the attorney general on Sunday, “the crisis will be able to end and Otzma Yehudit MKs will vote in favor of the budget.”

“Bezalel, dismissing the attorney general is governance, not foolishness,” he subsequently tweets.