Itamar ben-Gvir’s Appointment in Limbo

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused for weeks to submit a response to the petitions against Itamar Ben-Gvir's appointment as National Defense Minister, Kan News reported Tuesday evening.

As a result of Netanyahu's refusal to give the State's position on Ben-Gvir's appointment, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has submitted a fifth request for a delay for the State to submit its response to the petitions. 

So far, Netanyahu has not rushed to defend the appointment and react to it, unlike his clear response to the petitions against Shas chairman Aryeh Deri's appointment as Interior and Finance Minister. Baharav-Miara met several times with Netanyahu on the issue and did not receive a clear position from him. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was disqualified from serving as a minister given his own past convictions. Unlike Ben-Gvir, Deri's most recent conviction for tax offenses occurred in February 2022 and not more than a decade ago. In addition, the Supreme Court found that Deri's plea deal in this case required him to retire from politics.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367793