Government wants to operate ‘above the law,’ without checks on power, alleges AG

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accuses the government of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the governmental legal advice system which she heads.

Writing to the cabinet ahead of a scheduled meeting today to approve a no-confidence motion in her, the attorney general asserts that that motion is legally irrelevant and will have no bearing on the government’s efforts to remove her from office.

She also argues that the government fundamentally misunderstands the role of the Attorney General’s Office, which she says is to assist the government in achieving its policies in accordance with the law.

“When the legal advice system presents the government with the boundaries of the law it is doing its job, and it cannot be claimed that these are differences of opinion which are cause to dismiss,” says the attorney general in response to the government’s basic argument that Baharav-Miara has repeatedly thwarted the government from implementing its policies.

She points out that she and the legal advisory system have assisted the current government with the advancement of hundreds of pieces of legislation and hundreds of government resolutions, a form of executive action, and represented the government in over 2,000 petitions, including key issues relating to the war such as petitions against its humanitarian aid policy to Gaza, administrative detention, and other controversial policies.

“The [no-confidence] motion does not seek to advance trust but rather loyalty to the political echelon, not governability but rather regime power without borders, as part of a broader process to weaken the judicial branch and deter the entire professional echelon,” charges Baharav Miara.

“The government seeks to be above the law and to operate without checks and balances, including at the most sensitive time, a time of emergency, anti-government protests, and an election period,” she concludes.