At the end of a long day of hearings, which lasted about 10 hours, on petitions filed against the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, who was fired by the government about two weeks ago, the High Court of Justice issued an interim order this evening (Tuesday) according to which Shin Bet head Ronen Bar will remain in his position until a different decision is made.
All KKL-JNF events for Passover 2015: trips, family happenings and workshops • The details
According to the order, no move regarding the termination of the term of office of the head of the Shin Bet should be promoted, including the announcement of finding a replacement or acting head, and the powers of the chief should not be harmed.
However, the judges allowed the prime minister to interview new candidates for the position, as long as no replacement is announced, and ordered that working relationships that do not infringe on powers continue.
At the same time, the judges gave the parties, the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, the opportunity to reach an agreed-upon settlement by April 20.
Minister Shlomo Kari responded: "No! The government must obey the law! A duty of loyalty to the State of Israel and its laws (!) Not to an unconstitutional and unauthorized order.".
""The 'creative solution' is very simple: Ronen Bar will end his term on April 10. This is our duty: to preserve democracy and the security of the state. These are the balances and checks that are sometimes required to balance the judiciary. If not in such a case of harm to state security, what is the red line? The right of return for the Palestinians? The abolition of the Jewish state and its transformation into a state for all its citizens? What is democratic about the absolute rule of Yitzhak Amit?"'
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a return to legal reform legislation in response to the High Court of Justice's decision that left Ronen Bar at the head of the Shin Bet.
""The ongoing erosion of the powers of an elected democratic regime, by an unelected body, lacking checks and balances, which assumes powers in complete violation of the law, should worry anyone who fears democracy. There is no choice but to return to legal reform soon.".
After riots broke out in the courtroom as the hearing began, the judges decided that the hearing would be held without an audience - but it continued to be broadcast live.
At the end of the hearing, Supreme Court President Justice Yitzhak Amit said that he was allowing the parties to reach a creative solution by Passover, and if not, a ruling would be issued.
Avishai Greenzig, the legal commentator for the i24 channel, noted that it appears that Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister Gali Baharav Mayara will not accept the compromise.
Earlier, Judge Noam Solberg proposed a compromise in the hearing - according to which the issue of dismissals would be transferred to the Committee for Senior Appointments. The Cabinet Secretary submitted a note to Attorney Zion Amir, who represents the government - and Amir said that the committee does not have the required composition, and hence this is part of the difficulty.
However, Attorney Amir, who represents the government, said that he would agree to this, provided that there are no subsequent petitions against the dismissal.
The representative of the Ombudsman expressed strong opposition to the proposal, saying: "We have a claim of conflict of interest. The Prime Minister cannot deal with the issue.".
The judges' goal is to have an agreed-upon solution that does not require a ruling. The judges talked about a deadline after Passover, but the government secretary asked for before the holiday.
More on the topic:
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
