Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara informed the High Court of Justice that, in her view, efforts to reach agreements with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the conduct of his ministry have failed.
According to her, "The reality on the ground indicates systematic and ongoing violations, many of which never come to the attention of the public or legal advisers due to the lack of reporting by the police, who do not respond to inquiries on the matter."
"Attempts to define the working boundaries of through policies or agreements have proven ineffective in practice, because the Minister is not required to implement them."
Baharav-Miara alleged, "In light of the ongoing harm to the professional and apolitical independence of the police, and the concern that this could have a negative effect on law enforcement during an election period, the only remedy left to protect democracy and the rule of law is the removal of Minister Ben Gvir from his position in the government."
Ben Gvir responded: "Gali, I don't care what you think. You'll keep trying to bring down the right-wing government, and we'll keep working - and with G-d's help, we'll win."
Earlier this week, Baharav-Miara sent a letter to the government claiming that following the Knesset's dissolution, ministers and government ministries are required to exercise considerable restraint in making substantive decisions.
"The current government is required to exercise restraint in the use of its powers during a period in which the case law has identified an increased risk that narrow partisan interests may be preferred over the public interest, as well as a concern that irreversible facts may be created that could leave the next elected government with no meaningful ability to change them."
Baharav-Miara's conduct is not consistent: In 2022, after the government led by rotational prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid dissolved, the Bennett-Lapid caretaker government proceeded to sign a gas deal, highly criticized as being dangerous to Israel's security.
Baharav-Miara, who was Attorney General at the time, recommended that the maritime agreement with Lebanon be brought for a Knesset vote, due to the fact that the current government is a caretaker government, and the agreement is irreversible. She added that the Knesset's vote would strengthen the government's position against appeals submitted to the Supreme Court against the deal.
According to Globes, Israel's caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, rejected Baharav-Miara's stance and decided to place the agreement on the Knesset table, but not hold a vote on it. On Wednesday, the government will vote according to Lapid's position to present the agreement to the Knesset without a vote.
Despite the high stakes of the deal, the fact that a caretaker government signed the deal without Knesset approval, and that her advice was ignored, Baharav-Miara clarified that she would defend Lapid's position if she were required to do so by the Supreme Court.