The High Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government violated their own set procedures as well as conflict of interest principles with their attempted firing of Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar.
Bar’s firing was frozen by the court to leave time for a series of hearings and affidavits filed by Netanyahu and Bar, until the Shin Bet chief finally announced he would quit as of June 15.
In light of Bar’s publicizing his date for stepping down, conservative Justice Noam Sohlberg said that the court did not need to issue any ruling on the issues in dispute and should have remained silent.
Justices disagree on publishing ruling, agree on analysis of case
Sohlberg warned that the court must avoid controversial issues that implicate the fundamental balance of the separation of powers between the judiciary and other branches of government whenever it can avoid them.
In contrast, moderate activist High Court Chief Justice Yitzchak Amit and activist Justice Daphna Barak Erez ruled that the government’s firing of Bar was so problematic that the judiciary must make a clear declaration about it to avoid similar situations in the future.
All of the justices acknowledged that Netanyahu and the government have the power to fire a Shin Bet chief, but that the government’s own prior decisions created a professional body to vet such decisions, and that the prime minister had done an end run around that body, weighing in on the issue.
Further, the High Court said that Netanyahu and his aides’ connection to the Qatargate scandal, which the Shin Bet is involved in probing, placed a special, at least temporary limit on the ability to fire Bar, lest it appear that Netanyahu is trying to thwart the Qatargate probe.
While Sohlberg said no decision needed to be published, given the decision was being published, he agreed with the other justices’ analysis of the key issues in play, including that Netanyahu and the government had overreached.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which was one of the groups that submitted the initial petition, said in a statement that it welcomed the court’s “precedent-setting” decision.
“The Movement for Quality Government in Israel welcomes the important and precedent-setting ruling of the High Court of Justice, which accepted our petition and determined that the government’s decision to dismiss Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was taken in an improper process and contrary to the law,” the organization said.
“The ruling constitutes a firm statement that even in times of war, the rule of law and democratic principles cannot be compromised, and that ensuring the independence of the gatekeepers is part of the domestic resilience of the State of Israel.”
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