Netanyahu slams High Court, vows he’ll appoint next Shin Bet head despite AG’s opinion

In a change from normal protocol, the Prime Minister’s Office does not hold a lottery to determine the order of questions at his press conference, and instead, Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman calls on reporters of his choosing.

He first chooses a reporter for the staunchly supportive Channel 14 network, who asks the prime minister about the High Court’s ruling that the firing of Ronen Bar was unlawful, and fortuitously, Netanyahu has a copy of the law giving the premier the power to fire and choose a Shin Bet chief handy to read in response to the question.

“That’s the law,” he says. “Clear, sharp. No lacunae… Everyone must obey the law. I must obey the law. You must obey the law. All citizens of Israel must obey the law. The judges must obey the law. And the attorney general must obey the law.”

He asks whether the court and attorney general will follow the law that reflects with will of the public.

He says the court ruling is “disgraceful,” and it harms democracy and national security.

After Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara this evening said that Netanyahu cannot appoint a new Shin Bet chief until the court ruling’s ramifications are clarified since he’s in conflict of interest, the premier accuses her of having a conflict of interest herself, likening her to a camel that can’t see its own humps since she allegedly didn’t report that a key prosecution witness in the corruption trial against him is very close acquaintance of hers, and adding that she has a longstanding close relationship with Bar.

“We are in a difficult war against Hamas, and they are in a difficult war against the government fighting against Hamas,” he says of the attorney general and the High Court, claiming that they are harming Israel’s security.

Netanyahu pledges that he will appoint a new Shin Bet chief despite Baharav-Miara’s decision today.