Israel's Supreme Court invalidates the appointment of the number 2 of the government
The Israeli Supreme Court has just invalidated the appointment of Arie Dery, who manages the Interior and Health. Two options are now available to Binyamin Netanyahu.
Arié Dery, Minister of the Interior and Health, is a repeat offender. In the 2000s, he was convicted of corruption. More recently, last year, he was fined for tax evasion. To avoid prison a second time, he makes an agreement with the justice system: his withdrawal from political life, against a reprieve, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa.
Far from keeping his word, he ran for the legislative elections, and managed to be re-elected. In Parliament, his allies are hastily knitting a tailor-made piece of legislation. It is also called the "Dery law". In essence, a person found guilty but not sentenced to prison, can thus obtain a ministerial portfolio.
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This Wednesday, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled: this law is invalidated. Ten of the eleven judges of the highest court in the country have taken the same decision: Arié Dery can no longer be a minister. " The Supreme Court has decided that the appointment of MP Arié Dery as Minister of the Interior and Health cannot be validated ", said the court in a press release. " Prime Minister should fire him ", she continues.
A government heavyweight
Not that easy. Because Arié Dery is a heavyweight in the government. He is the leader of the Shass party, an ultra-Orthodox religious formation. If Binyamin Netanyahu removes him from office, he loses his main ally, and it is his government that risks collapsing. With the key, new elections. But leaving him in office is illegal.
The judiciary is the only one in Israel able to control the government and safeguard individual rights, which it did on Wednesday via the Supreme Court in deciding on this appointment. " We will make sure to right this injustice by all legal means. ", announced the leaders of the coalition parties, in a joint statement, calling the court's decision " serious attack on democracy ".
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