AG is ‘harming security’ with political rulings in wartime: MK

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s goal is to “topple the government,” says Education Minister after controversial legal opinion published.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition slammed Attorney General Gali Barahav-Miara on Monday after she declared the appointment of the new Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head to be “invalid and illegal.”

On Sunday evening, Baharav-Miara said that Netanyahu does not have the right to appoint Maj. Gen. David Zini as the leader of the security agency, after outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar pledged to step down on June 15.

Barahav-Miara claimed that Netanyahu’s announcement that Zini will succeed Bar violated a recent Supreme Court ruling that banned the premier from firing the organization’s leader.

Netanyahu “is in a situation of conflict of interest and cannot engage in the appointment of the Shin Bet head,” Baharav-Miara wrote in her legal opinion.

But Netanyahu’s allies are fighting back, saying that Barahav-Miara’s opinions are politically motivated, and that she does not have the authority to interfere in security matters while Israel is engaged a multifront war.

By attempting to prevent the premier from appointing a Shin Bet head during wartime, Baharav-Miara is “harming national security,” said Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud).

He added that she “should be brought to justice immediately after she is ousted,” and that her legal opinion “completely contradicts the law, democracy and common sense.”

Karhi also noted that proceedings to remove Baharav-Miara from her position were initiated weeks ago, and therefore her opinions are marred by an inherent “conflict of interest.”

Baharav-Miara is a “political player whose sole purpose is toppling the government,” Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) said in a statement.