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Netanyahu to respond to petition against Gallant’s dismissal News of Israel

Sakege November 6, 2024

The judge of the Superior Court of Justice, Yael Vilner, gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until noon Thursday to respond to a petition against the dismissal of Minister of Defense, Yoav Galán claiming that the measure was “extremely unreasonable.”

Vilner’s failure to dismiss the petition outright was notable, as the court’s ability to intervene in such cases was a major point of contention in 2023 between supporters and opponents of the government’s judicial reforms.

The petition was presented Wednesday morning by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG).

Criticism of Galán’s dismissal

The movement said in the statement that “the dismissal of the Minister of Defense in times of war and when the State of Israel is under unprecedented threat in several areas, was taken due to extraneous and narrow political considerations with the sole purpose of promoting “Circumvent laws and preserve the coalition, and contrary to the considerations established in the court ruling on the transfer of a minister from his position.”

On December 27, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “We are in a war on multiple fronts and we are being attacked from seven theaters.” (credit: CHAIM GOLDBEG/FLASH90)

According to MQG, the decision’s legal defects included “extreme irrationality that impairs the government’s ability to function as an executive authority”; “extraneous and political considerations that are irrelevant and contrary to the considerations set forth in the ruling, which are the promotion of the government’s ability to function adequately as the executive authority of the state and meet the political objectives it faces”; “an acute conflict of interest of the prime minister who prefers his political survival to security needs”; and “a serious blow to public confidence in the security system and decision-making in times of war.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin criticized Vilner’s decision not to dismiss the petition outright.

“The Honorable Judge Vilner already became Minister of Justice when she issued an outrageous directive and took control of the judicial appointments committee,” Levin said, referring to an August ruling that found Levin had no authority to continue abstaining. convene the committee to appoint new judges.

“We now have the opportunity to bless her for stepping forward by putting herself in the prime minister’s shoes and hearing cases on the dismissal and appointment of ministers instead of rejecting the petition outright,” Levin said.

“The sky is the limit. We will wait tensely until January 20 to see when the honorable Judge Vilner will debate the American people’s decision to elect their president.”

Gallant’s firing will take effect Thursday night, and came the demand for a quick response from the state to determine whether a directive should be issued on the measure before it becomes official.