A weekend more than full of events for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. While more than 100,000 people took to the streets on Saturday to protest against his policy; this Sunday, Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to dismiss the Minister of Interior and Health, Arié Dery. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had invalidated the appointment of this minister declared guilty of tax evasion.
“It is with a heavy heart and great sorrow (…) that we are forced to relieve you of your position in the government”, Benyamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem in the presence of Arié Dery. Criticizing the decision of the Supreme Court, he added that the sentence ignores the will of the people and that he will endeavor to find any legal means so that Arié Dery can “Contribute to the service of the State of Israel”.
Leader of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shass party, Arié Dery was named health and interior minister under a coalition deal reached in December after Israel’s Nov. 1 legislative election.
The Supreme Court criticizes the “Dery law” but does not invalidate it
This highest legal body announced on Wednesday in a press release that it had decided by a majority of 10 judges out of eleven “that the appointment of deputy Arié Dery to the position of Minister of Interior and Health cannot be validated”. And for good reason. The minister had indicated in early 2022 that he was retiring from political life following his conviction for tax evasion. This withdrawal was even a condition imposed by the courts to avoid prison.
However, to try to avoid this condition, at the end of December, the deputies hastily voted a text, named “Dery’s Law” by the press This allows a person found guilty of a crime, but not sentenced to prison, to obtain a ministerial portfolio. Precisely to allow Arié Dery to sit on the executive.
In their submissions, the judges of the Supreme Court criticized the “Dery’s Law”, without invalidating it. They considered that the appointment of Arie Dery to the government was “in serious contradiction with the fundamental principles of the rule of law”.
Source : Le JDD
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