Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday accused outgoing Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara of trying to remove him from office over policy differences, in a written submission to the High Court of Justice ahead of a hearing on a petition seeking his dismissal.
“There is no basis for turning a minister’s tenure into a ‘legal question’ only because petitioners, or the attorney general, are dissatisfied with his actions,” Ben-Gvir wrote to the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, denying accusations that he interfered in police work.
Ben-Gvir claimed Baharav-Miara in her prior submission to the court failed to cite a single concrete example of illegal interference in police investigations, unlawful directives or corruption in appointments.
Ben-Gvir said the attorney general, whom the government fired on Aug. 4 but who was reinstated by the court pending petitions against the move, was seeking his removal because he supported her dismissal.
Ben-Gvir also noted that there was no conviction, indictment, criminal investigation, review or public report that could justify the petition, writing: “Had any of the minister’s actions warranted a criminal investigation, the attorney general would have opened one immediately.”
Responding to accusations that his policies regarding the Temple Mount were illegal, Ben-Gvir said he was in “full coordination” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Judaism’s holiest site.
The High Court of Justice is scheduled to hear the petition against Ben-Gvir on Thursday. The hearing follows a submission earlier this month by Baharav-Miara, who asked the High Court to order Netanyahu to explain to justices why he has failed to remove Ben-Gvir from office.
Netanyahu previously told fellow ministers at a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 10, 2024, that he would refuse to dismiss Ben-Gvir, saying that Baharav-Miara’s demand paved the way for a “constitutional crisis.”
“Today it’s me; tomorrow it’s you,” Ben-Gvir reportedly told the premier during the meeting, adding: “They want to take over the government.”
The prime minister was said to have told Ben-Gvir that he didn’t know “a faster way to bring about a constitutional crisis than trying to fire a minister without an indictment.”
According to Israeli law, Baharav-Miara does not work for the prime minister, unlike in the United States, where the attorney general is an agent of the executive branch. The Netanyahu government has often clashed with Baharav-Miara, who then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appointed in 2022.
