Attorney General Gali Baharav Meara spoke today at the Israel Bar Association conference in Eilat, commenting on the government's actions against the ministries' legal advisors. “The Government of Israel has sought to remove oversight bodies from events, and to neutralize the ability of legal advisors to act as brakes on government power and maintain the rule of law. Attempting to neutralize the brakes on government power not by legislation but by dismantling correct and normal operating procedures can be called 'silent reform' “Reform hidden from view.” Our mission is to shed light on this hidden phenomenon, because the economic, social, security and democratic price of the absence of the rule of law is high.
The Attorney General said that what is happening is a continuation of the judicial reform program through hidden changes. “The aim of judicial reform was to remove checks and balances from government power, damaging existing guarantees of the rule of law and proper administration.
“As part of the fight against the politicization of public systems, populist attacks on public servants must be condemned without reservation. Public servants, and certainly regulators, owe a fiduciary duty to the public, and to the public only. The fight against the politicization of public service lies in public service,” said Baharav Meara. At the root of our position is that the national duty and apolitical character of the Israeli police must be entrenched in law.”
Regarding the powers granted to Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, the government’s legal advisor said: “The minister responsible for the police on behalf of the government is not a super police commissioner. The limits of his authority must be defined and fenced.” In particular, he may not interfere in the operational activities of the police and in concrete decisions. The amendment to the Police Law does not stipulate the basic condition of the illegality of political interference in the work of police authorities. “What must be submitted to the Supreme Court of Justice is that the amendment to the Police Law does not meet the test of constitutionality, and at least some of its articles must be repealed.”
Baharav Mayara attacked the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which calls for an end to the Israeli military operation in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. “We are not deterred from applying the full force of the law to anyone, even the heads of the army and the state. We are investigating and will examine suspicions of illegal actions. We do not need outside help. The army is currently conducting the investigations. I must mention that the prosecutor's office The State General's Office is making progress at the criminal level in dealing with unlawful statements related to the war, and described the International Court of Justice's decision as “outrageous.”
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Regarding the request of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, along with Hamas leaders, Baharav Meara said: “Comparing our political leadership with the leadership of the main killers of Hamas is a moral eclipse.”
She said: “The IDF is committed to fighting legally. This is a value rooted in our legal system. Israel’s war is always against Hamas and the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, and not against the population. The IDF operates according to the principle of ‘purity of arms’. This is not weakness, but rather The moral strength of a Jewish and democratic state.”
Military Prosecutor Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, who also spoke at the conference, said the Military Criminal Investigation Department is investigating about 70 cases of suspected violations of the laws of war. “These suspicions are being examined comprehensively and rigorously, as part of our deep commitment to the law. Among these investigations are the allegations raised regarding the conditions of detention of prisoners in the Sde Teman, the deaths of detainees in the custody of the Israeli army, as well as incidents in which non-combatants were killed in operations.” Incidents of violence, property crimes, and looting.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on May 27, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
