High Court rejects government’s demand to expedite ruling on Shin Bet chief’s firing

The High Court of Justice rejects a request on behalf of the government that the court expedite its discussion regarding the legality of the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

The court has issued an interim order freezing Bar’s firing and given the sides time to negotiate an agreed solution.

Yesterday, the government demanded that the court rescind the temporary injunction, in an addendum to a legal opinion filed by a lawyer for Boaz Miran, brother of Gaza hostage Omri Miran and a member of the hawkish Tikva Forum.

In its response, the court says it’s regrettable that the request wasn’t filed directly by the government. Justices Isaac Amit, Daphne Barak-Erez and Noam Sohlberg say the request is based on media reports, “which cannot be a basis for a judicial decision.”

They say further decisions will be based on affidavits to be filed in the coming days, inviting the sides to file them.

The judges reject the government’s argument that imposing a Shin Bet chief they distrust endangers security and robs the government of its powers. “The government is entrusted with making diplomatic and defense decisions, and the existence of judicial review regarding an appointment, as senior as it is, doesn’t take away from that in any way,” they write.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted in March to fire Bar, citing a breakdown in trust. The unprecedented ouster — which came amid a high-profile, ongoing Shin Bet investigation into several of Netanyahu’s close aides — was immediately challenged. The court ruled two weeks ago that, while a compromise is being sought on the procedure used to fire Bar, he cannot in the meantime be removed from his position.