Reports say AG will tell High Court she opposes Deri’s appointment as minister

Multiple reports say that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has decided to oppose the appointment of Shas party chief Aryeh Deri as a minister in the new government.

Ahead of a Thursday hearing by an expanded panel of 11 High Court justices on petitions against Deri’s appointment as health and interior minister, Baharav-Miara will reportedly submit a legal opinion saying the nomination is unreasonable for someone who has been convicted three times in the past, including last year.

If the court ends up accepting that opinion, Netanyahu will be forced to fire Deri from his cabinet posts.

However, the reports by Globes and Ynet add that Baharav-Miara will defend the new government’s recently passed legislation that enabled Deri’s appointment — a law change clarifying that those who have received suspended sentences in the previous seven years — unlike those who received custodial jail sentences — can become ministers.