Israel Cabinet moves to fire Attorney-General overseeing Netanyahu’s corruption trial

JERUSALEM – Israel’s Cabinet on Aug 4 voted to terminate the appointment of the country’s Attorney-General, whom it has been trying to oust for months, but the Supreme Court quickly issued an injunction to block the move pending a review of its legality.

Judge Noam Solberg said the process should take place no later than Sept 4, and in the meantime, the government must continue to work with Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The Cabinet’s unanimous decision to fire her with immediate effect cited “substantial and prolonged differences of opinion” between her and the government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not take part in the vote to avoid a conflict of interest – the Attorney-General oversees state prosecutors involved in his ongoing corruption trial.

Ms Baharav-Miara was appointed in 2022 by then Justice Minister Gideon Saar, who now serves as Mr Netanyahu’s foreign minister. Mr Saar has since blamed her for turning against the government and preventing it from implementing its policies.

The Attorney-General has drawn fire from Mr Netanyahu’s government for insisting it abide by a court ruling that ends a decades-long exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from serving in the military, causing a rift between Mr Netanyahu and some of his coalition partners.

She also thwarted his appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet security service after he removed the previous chief, arguing that this was a conflict of interest because the security service was investigating his close aides over illegal ties with Qatar.

They later agreed that the appointment would be delayed until mid-September.

Mr Netanyahu’s opponents view the move to get rid of her as part of a wider attempt to shift more power to the executive branch. BLOOMBERG