Israeli Supreme Court orders Netanyahu to dismiss the number two in his government

The Supreme Court of Israel invalidated this Wednesday the appointment of Arieh Derinumber two of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of the Interior and Health, sentenced last year for tax evasion.

The court decided by a vote of 10 to 1 that Prime Minister Netanyahu, back in power since December, “must remove from office” to Arieh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish party Shas.

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The leaders of the parties that make up the government coalition described as “injustice” the decision, but gave it to be understood that they will not oppose the measure, which also does not threaten the continuity of the Shas party in the cabinet.

“The Supreme Court has decided that the appointment of the deputy Arieh Deri as Minister of Interior and Health cannot be validated”, the institution stated in a statement.

Arieh Deri He admitted last year to being guilty of a crime of tax fraud and was fined 180,000 shekels, the equivalent of about 50,000 dollars.

Israeli deputies had hurriedly voted at the end of December on a law, called “deri law” by the press, by which a person recognized as guilty of a crime but not sentenced to firm prison was authorized to hold a ministerial portfolio.

The goal was to allow Arieh Deri to fill the very position she had claimed to join Netanyahu’s right-wing and far-right coalition, formed in December.

Deri said last year that he was retiring from politics following his conviction, but was ultimately re-elected as a deputy in the Nov. 1 legislature, and appointed minister by Netanyahu.

A turn that made him ugly on Wednesday by the Supreme Court, since his withdrawal from politics at that time was the condition set by the justice system to avoid imprisonment for tax fraud.

According to the judges of the court, his appointment meant “a serious contradiction with the fundamental principles of the rule of law”.

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The coalition charges against the court

Netanyahu, according to his spokesman, visited Deri at her home after learning of the decision, and told her: “When my brother is in trouble, I come to see him.”.

The Shas party, the second most important formation in the coalition with 11 deputies in the chamber (which has a total of 120), denounced a “political decision”.

In Israel, a country that does not have a Constitution, the judiciary is the only one capable of controlling the government, as it did this Wednesday through the supreme court.

The new Israeli Minister of Justice, Yariv Levinannounced this month a controversial reform of the judicial system, which includes a clause “repeal” by which Parliament can annul a decision of the supreme court.

The reform must be submitted to Parliament on a date to be determined, and its objective is to increase the power of deputies over that of magistrates.

Minister Levin estimated that the decision of the Supreme Court is “absurd”, and promised to do “what is necessary to make full amends for the injustice that has been done to Deri, the Shas party and Israeli democracy”.

For his part, the head of the opposition and former prime minister Yair Lapid stated that if Deri is not fired, “the government will be outlawed”.

Arieh Deri, 63, was first elected to Parliament in 1992 for the Shas party, and served as a minister in numerous governments. In 2000 he was sentenced to three years in jail for corruption, and released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

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Claude Kleinemeritus professor of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told AFP that he does not expect to see an impact on the coalition, as the Shas party is interested in staying in it.

However, this couldspeed up” the desire of the government to carry out its justice reform.

Own Benjamin Netanyahu is being prosecuted for corruption in a series of scandals, in which he denies charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust brought against him.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.