Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet ShakedPhoto by Ohad Zweigenberg/POOL

An article in the Haaretz newspaper Friday morning slammed Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) for appointing Attorney Amir Fischer as her external adviser for Judea and Samaria.

Fischer was previously the legal adviser of the Regavim movement, and under Shaked's guidance, every position presented by the State Attorney's Office to the Supreme Court on the issue of the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria is reviewed by the Justice Ministry to ensure it fits the government's position on the issue, according to Haaretz.

According to the report, Shaked and her associates participate in meetings relating to the Judea and Samaria communities, rewrite documents and give their desired emphasis to the positions presented before the Supreme Court justices.

A senior attorney in the State Attorney's Office argued that "this is something that goes to the root of our professional integrity, We may be turning in to a State Attorney's Office that is a branch of the Jewish Home party instead of the Jewish State."

Other attorneys told Haaretz that more than once they had to change their positions to accommodate those of Justice Minister Shaked. A Justice Ministry official criticized Shaked and said, "When the justice minister influences the contents of the responses submitted to the Supreme Court, there is a problem with this, especially when this issue does not fall within her authority."

"It is like if Yaakov Litzman, in his capacity as Health Minister, asked for answers from the Supreme Court on the issue of transportation on Shabbat," the source said.

In response to the allegations, Justice Minister Shaked told Arutz Sheva that "the State Attorney's Office, representing the government's positions before the Supreme Court, does not act as an independent body, but is subject to government policy as expressed in the ministerial directives."

"The State Attorney's Office does not and cannot have an independent position insofar as it relates to settlement policy in Judea and Samaria or other policy matters. Therefore, the involvement of the elected echelon or anyone acting on its behalf is not only not acceptable, it is required."