Amir Ohana. (photo credit: TWITTER)
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Justice Minister Amir Ohana told Channel 12 late Wednesday that he was ready to disobey rulings by the High Court of Justice if they went against his view of what was necessary to keep Israeli citizens safe.
In his first interview since becoming acting justice minister this week, Ohana also made explosive statements regarding the cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He said he continued to support a bill to circumvent the High Court’s ability to veto Knesset laws as well as a bill to give Netanyahu immunity from prosecution while he remains in office.
Moreover, he would not commit to supporting the High Court if it ruled in favor of prosecuting Netanyahu, merely saying he hoped it would not come to that.
Further, while he refused to make new criticisms against Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit’s February 28 announcement of a likely intent to indict Netanyahu, he said he stood by his past statements which included clear implications that Mandelblit’s arm had been twisted by his prosecution team into going after Netanyahu against the attorney-general’s better judgement.
Ohana also questioned the professionalism and non-partisan status of the prosecution, saying there should be no assumption that all of them “are angels” without “improper interests.”
The new acting justice minister’s interview put him far to the right of even his right-leaning predecessor Ayelet Shaked, who attacked the High Court but never advocated disobeying it and never criticized Mandelblit’s handling of the Netanyahu cases.
A court spokeswoman declined to respond.
Opposition Knesset members condemned Ohana’s statements in the interview.
Blue and White MK Ofer Shelah said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Ohana to destroy the rule of law from inside.
“What else do you need to know to understand what stands before us in this election,” Shelah asked the public.
His Blue and White colleague, MK Karine Elharrar, said “Ohana’s statements belong in dark regimes that are far from here.” She accused him of “trampling the Supreme Court and completely ignoring its authority,” “mocking the professionals he is now in charge of” and “spitting in the face of his [LGBT] community.” She also called him paranoid for saying he is afraid that a case against him will be manufactured in order to incriminate him.
Labor MK Shelly Yacimovich advised Ohana that if he “obeys the law and keeps his hands clean,” no one will manufacture a case against him. She said he should be thankful to left-wing legislators for making his way of life no longer a crime.
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