From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 4, 2024
Netanyahu pans ‘oppositional’ AG amid calls for her ouster, asks minister to prepare ‘solution’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Ministers rail against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over her opposition to government policies, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing her conduct as “oppositional” and expressing a desire for a “solution,” according to remarks at a cabinet meeting today reported by Hebrew media.
After Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says Baharav-Miara needs to be fired, Netanyahu responds that “she is an oppositional attorney general,” claiming that due to her political slants, she approved “illegal” measures advanced by the previous government, including a maritime agreement with Lebanon and various appointments during a transitional period.
Netanyahu reportedly says he has requested Justice Minister Yariv Levin to prepare a “solution” to the issue.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Netanyahu over the “threats” against Baharav-Miara, asserting that they constitute “evidence that the government is returning to the [judicial overhaul] with all its might.”
“We will work to prevent her dismissal legally, publicly and in every way,” Lapid says in a statement. “The attempts to replace her are part of Netanyahu’s and his government’s attempt to fundamentally destroy Israeli democracy during wartime.”
Earlier today, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs accused Baharav-Miara’s office of putting itself above the government and leading the country to “total anarchy,” after one of her deputies accused Fuchs of acting without legal authority to force the treasury to prepare to subsidize daycares for the families of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.
