From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 1, 2024
Lapid: If Netanyahu fires attorney general, we may resign from Knesset
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, arguing that such a move would constitute a return to the government’s efforts to hobble the judiciary.
Addressing reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Lapid states that “the opposition will not allow this to pass in silence or with polite protests from the sidelines” and “will not rule out any step or action, from mass strikes and an escalation of the struggle in the streets to a collective resignation from the Knesset.”
“We will not participate in pretending that Israel is a democracy if it ceases to be so,” he declares, accusing the government of sending up “trial balloons” relating to its alleged intentions.
“On Thursday, Minister Amichai Chikli issued a letter to the prime minister with a demand to fire the attorney general. Such letters are coordinated in advance, and are intended to ‘plant’ the idea. Chikli was preceded by ministers Karhi and Amsalem. They are also often used by the Prime Minister’s Office to spread messages. Karhi called for her impeachment in an interview on Channel 11. Amsalem demanded her dismissal both in the government and from the speaker’s podium in the Knesset,” he continues.
“Yesterday at the cabinet meeting this was already discussed openly, and with Netanyahu’s encouragement,” Lapid charges. “It’s an orchestrated campaign that comes directly from the Prime Minister’s Office.”
If Baharav-Miara were dismissed, it would allow Justice Minister Yariv Levin to choose the next attorney general “and put the legal revolution back on track,” Lapid says. In addition, it would allow Netanyahu to “resolve — if only temporarily — the crisis between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties.”
The Times of Israel Community.