From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Heads of coalition factions urge PM to defy any High Court order to dismiss Ben Gvir
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Several leaders of coalition factions are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to comply with any potential High Court order to dismiss National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, ahead of Thursday’s hearing on petitions calling for his removal.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has endorsed the petitions, accusing the far-right minister, who leads the Otzma Yehudit faction, of systematically abusing his powers and intervening inappropriately in police work. She has said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be ordered to explain why he hasn’t fired him.
In a letter addressed to Netanyahu, Religious Zionism head Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who headed the former New Hope faction, coalition whip MK Ofir Katz, and Ben Gvir himself, who leads the Otzma Yehudit faction, urge the premier to “strongly reject” any such move, which they call “an attempted coup against democracy.”
“No legal authority, including the High Court of Justice, has the power to force the dismissal of a government minister, especially when no indictment has even been filed against him,” they argue.
“We will stand as a solid wall against the baseless dismissal of a government minister,” they write, arguing that “only the people elect the government, and only the people will decide at the ballot box who their representatives are.”
The Times of Israel Community.