Israel Supreme Court orders Netanyahu to remove minister over conviction

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to remove a senior minister over a past
criminal conviction, in a setback for the new right-wing
coalition government.

Wednesday’s 10-to-one ruling on Shas party leader Aryeh Deri
looks likely to further stoke tensions between the Cabinet and
Israel’s Supreme Court over government reform plans which aim to
rein in the top court.

“Most of the judges have determined that this
appointment is extremely unreasonable and thus the prime
minister must remove him from office,” said a court summary of
the ruling.

There was no immediate response from Netanyahu, who
returned to office in December at the head of a hard-right
government.

Deri’s Shas Party condemned the ruling.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands rally in Israel against new Netanyahu government

Tax fraud confession

Deri, who holds the interior and health portfolios and
is due to become finance minister under a rotation deal,
confessed to tax fraud last year in a plea deal that spared him
jail time.

Political watchdogs had appealed to the Supreme Court to
order Netanyahu to strike down the appointment, deeming it
unreasonable.

The government’s reform plans would increase government
control over judicial appointments while limiting the Supreme
Court’s power to strike down legislation or rule against
government actions.

They also include the removal of “reasonableness” as a court standard of review.

READ MORE:
Israel’s Netanyahu defends plan that seeks to prune judiciary’s powers