MKs file bill to enable police probes against AG amid growing campaign to oust her
Likud minister reveals list of 13 cabinet members who have signed letter demanding firing of Gali Baharav-Miara, with Ben Gvir reportedly lobbying other ministers to sign on
Coalition lawmakers on Tuesday revealed the draft of a bill that would enable criminal investigations against the attorney general and the state attorney, amid a campaign within the government seeking Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s ouster.
The legislation proposes a new mechanism for cases in which there is information that the police wish to investigate against the two senior legal officials: They would need to request the approval of the justice minister, and he would appoint a prosecutor to probe the suspicions.
The bill also states that the prosecutor appointed by the justice minister would have the same investigatory powers that the attorney general and state attorney possess.
“The attorney general and state attorney stand at the head of the law enforcement and prosecution apparatuses,” far-right Religious Zionism MKs Zvi Sukkot and Simcha Rothman wrote in the explanatory notes for the bill.
“There is a shortcoming in the existing law regarding opening criminal proceedings against them. The bill seeks to fix this and enable the justice minister to appoint a prosecutor independent of the State Attorney’s Office in cases of this sort.”
The pair argued such a change would create a dynamic similar to investigations into police misconduct, which are led by the Justice Ministry’s Department of Internal Police Investigations rather than by a unit within the police force.
A Channel 12 news report described the bill as part of efforts to pressure Baharav-Miara, but it was not clear what police would theoretically seek to investigate her for.
Baharav-Miara has frequently clashed with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government over some of the unprecedentedly far-reaching policies it has sought to advance. The disagreements have increased amid ongoing investigations into the premier’s staff.
If Netanyahu were to fire Baharav-Mirara, it could violate the premier’s conflict of interest arrangement, drafted in 2020 by then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit. The High Court had ordered Netanyahu to sign off on the arrangement so he could continue to serve as prime minister, while on criminal trial for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.
Meanwhile, Likud Minister Shlomo Karhi on Tuesday revealed the list of 13 ministers who have signed his letter demanding Baharav-Miara’s dismissal: Karhi, Miki Zohar, May Golan, Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, David Amsalem, Haim Katz, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Amichay Eliyahu, Orit Strock, Yitzhak Goldknopf, Meir Porush and Itamar Ben Gvir.
The latter has been adamantly lobbying fellow ministers to act for Baharav-Miara’s ouster, but most of his colleagues have not signed off on this, frustrating Ben Gvir, the Ynet news site reported. The report cited unnamed ministers saying this was currently the main focus of the far-right leader — who has publicly been pushing for Baharav-Miara to be fired — and that he has been voicing “extreme” threats over the matter.
The Knesset is set to hold a declarative discussion Wednesday on firing the attorney general, though it is not expected to include a vote on the matter, Channel 12 reported.
Karhi has been among the most vocal ministerial critics of Baharav-Miara, recently accusing her of paving the way for the assassination of the prime minister for what, he alleged, is her failure to tackle violence and incitement from anti-government protesters. The remarks came after three prominent anti-government protesters were arrested in connection to the firing of flares at Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea during a rally.
Netanyahu himself described Baharav-Miara’s conduct as “combative” during a cabinet meeting last month, and asked Justice Minister Yariv Levin to come up with a “solution” to deal with her, prompting outrage.
His office later attempted to walk back his comments somewhat, saying that the attorney general’s role is to “assist the government in implementing the government’s decisions and promoting bills on its behalf, and not the other way around.”
Critics of the government have characterized Baharav-Miara as one of the last remaining gatekeepers capable of holding the government in check as it pursues a series of anti-democratic policies.
