Israel's High Court rejected on Thursday the Movement for Quality Government's final appeal against Shas chairman Aryeh Deri's appointment as Economy Minister in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's fourth government.
Chances of the petition being accepted were slim to none, after the court's judges refused to issue an injunction against his appointment in April when the government was first formed.
In her ruling, Judge Esther Hayor noted that 13 years have passed since Deri finished a two-year sentence for corruption charges - double the amount of time required before returning to public service as codified in Israel's laws.
"As stated, 13 years have passed since Deri finished serving the prison sentence imposed on him, and simple arithmetic shows this is almost double the amount of time determined by the legislature for such cases," Hayot wrote.
"Truth be told, [finding] the necessary balance in this case between conflicting considerations was complex and not without difficulties," Hayot admitted.
"One could say Deri's appointment as minister borders on unreasonableness, but given all the considerations we have discussed in detail above, and given the broad discretion dedicated to the Prime Minister on these matters, we have found no reason to intervene."
The Movement for Quality Government rejected the verdict, maintaining that "the movement's position is that [Deri's] appointment is beyond the limit of reasonableness."
The group said it would consider taking further steps, including legal ones, "in light of the importance of this issue and its impact on the norms of governance in Israel."