The Supreme Court has granted the government and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara one week to try to reach an agreement on the appointment of the Shin Bet chief, in order to avoid a final ruling.
During the hearing, an unusual confrontation took place between Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and two panel judges, Alex Stein and Gila Canfy-Steinitz.
Judge Stein argued that the Prime Minister is allowed to disagree with the Attorney General's opinion, based on a report by the Shamgar Committee, which outlines guidelines for handling conflicts of interest. Amit disagreed, saying that if each minister could set their own rules, it would cause constant legal battles.
Stein explained that the law states that when there is only one authority, it must make the final decision in cases of conflict of interest. He pointed out that the Prime Minister had proposed that General Zini not handle the Qatar-gate case to avoid such a conflict. Canfy-Steinitz supported Stein, saying the removal of the Prime Minister’s powers should be a last resort.
Later, Stein criticized the Attorney General’s representative, questioning how her stance on Netanyahu’s involvement conflicted with the law. He argued that her opinion contradicted a previous ruling. Canfy-Steinitz agreed, noting that the Attorney General’s opinion was extreme and did not consider moderate alternatives.
The Attorney General's representative responded that Netanyahu's behavior led to the opinion but admitted that the opinion might have been different had Netanyahu not rushed to announce Zini’s appointment.
The judges questioned whether the Prime Minister could dictate conflict of interest arrangements, and the Attorney General’s representative explained that the Prime Minister would not be the one to set those rules.