High Court of Justice to deliver dramatic ruling on Deri appointment at 4 p.m.

The High Court of Justice will announce at 4 p.m. its decision on the petitions against Shas leader Aryeh Deri’s appointment as a cabinet minister in the new government.

According to reports, the court is expected to say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of Deri as interior and health minister is “extremely unreasonable” in light of Deri’s three past convictions, including one last year for tax offenses that landed him a suspended sentence.

Political observers expect the court to strike down Deri’s appointment.

Yesterday, Shas MK Avraham Bezalel warned that any decision to disqualify Deri would mean the court’s justices were “shooting themselves in the head,” a threat apparently alluding to plans by the hardline government to overhaul the judiciary — including by canceling the court’s right to invoke the legal “reasonableness” measure expected to be used against Deri, as well as giving the coalition the power to appoint justices, radically limit the court’s power to strike down legislation, and appoint ministries’ legal advisers.