Israeli Supreme Court orders government to reconsider firing of attorney-general

After the government formally voted to sack Baharav-Miara under this new procedure last month, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision would not take effect until the justices reviewed the mechanism and the reasons for her dismissal.

"Meanwhile, no changes will take place in the powers of the attorney general or her working relationship with the government," Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg wrote in its August 4 ruling.

Monday's interim order went further by pressing the coalition to act and setting a deadline, while also cancelling the scheduled hearing, which the government had vowed to boycott and did not file a response for.

If the government decides not to respond to the unanimous court decision, then it will be given the opportunity to submit affidavits to the court by October 30, after which a final ruling can be issued, the court said.

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin responded sharply to the court's intervention, saying on Monday night that the latest ruling was unsurprising and denouncing it as an "absurd spectacle."

"All the claims about procedure are just an excuse," claimed Levin, adding that "there was no effective cooperation between the dismissed attorney-general and the government. ... It is impossible to force the government, especially in the midst of war, to work with her even for one more day."

"The government, and only the government, will decide who its legal adviser will be," he vowed, using the official Hebrew term for the position of attorney general in the Jewish state.

Baharav-Miara's firing followed ministerial panels in July led by Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, which had voted to recommend that the government sack her.

She was summoned twice within one week for a hearing, but failed to appear, claiming the procedure established by the government was illegal.

Baharav-Miara had been appointed to the post by the previous government led by then-Israeli leader Naftali Bennett in 2022.

The Netanyahu government, which won that year’s general elections, has since accused her of abusing her position to thwart its policy objectives.

However, her supporters allege that the firing is politically motivated and designed to consolidate power in Netanyahu’s office and clear away legal hurdles for his government’s agenda.