Ohana denies ‘wild speculations’ about justice ministry director’s firing

Justice Minister Amir Ohana wades into the growing speculation over his reasons for firing Justice Ministry Director General Emi Palmor, a move that drew criticism from many parties and raised questions about his possible motive.

Some suggested he was attempting to influence the appointment of the next state attorney — any director general he would appoint would have a seat on the appointing committee — in order to ensure that one candidate opposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the lead prosecutor in the Netanyahu corruption investigations Liat Ben-Ari, isn’t given the job.

Others pointed to Yair Netanyahu’s sharing of a Facebook post on Sunday that accused Palmor of being a “leftist.”

But Ohana insists he alone made the decision.

“The accepted practice is for a minister to appoint a director general. It’s a position of trust — to do otherwise would be the anomaly,” Ohana says in a statement. “This is what governance looks like,” he declares.

He adds: “In recent weeks, I’ve spoken to Emi Palmor about concluding her term, and she expressed a willingness and agreement to finish. There is no truth to the wild speculations about the decision, which was made by me and me alone.”