Should the Supreme Court overrule the government’s decision to dismiss Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar, the answer should be a complete lack of cooperation, Justice Minister Yariv Levin said in an interview with Channel 14’s The Patriots on Saturday.
“If we are determined and we stand firm and say to the High Court, for example — you cannot force a Prime Minister to work with a Shin Bet chief he cannot work with. It’s simply not possible. There’s no such thing, it doesn’t exist in any other country in the world. And if you say no — we will stand up to this with great strength,” Levin said.
“We need to do exactly what we did with Judge [Isaac] Amit, not cooperate with him, not work with him,” Levin added, addressing Amit’s appointment as chief justice in February, which was boycotted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, and Levin himself.
“I believe the Shin Bet chief won’t last even a week, and you’ll see that he’ll get up and leave, because that’s how it should be,” Levin said in response to questions over whether such a move would harm Israeli security.
On Friday, Bar submitted a letter to the High Court of Justice stating that his removal from office occurred after he refused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay his public corruption trial.
Bar’s firing
Earlier in March, Netanyahu announced his decision to remove Bar from his post prior to the end of his tenure. The government approved the move unanimously, with Bar’s tenure set to end on April 10.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu rescinded his initial choice for agency chief, V.-adm. (ret.) Eli Sharvit.
Avraham Bloch contributed to this report.
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