Israel faces institutional confrontation as government moves against Attorney General and Shin Bet Chief

ISRAEL - In Brief 23 Mar 2025 by Sani Ziv
The Israeli government unanimously passed a resolution expressing no confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara—a move widely seen as paving the way for her dismissal. In response, Baharav-Miara sent a letter to the cabinet ministers, accusing them of seeking political loyalty rather than professional integrity. The Attorney General also noted that the cased in which she had blocked government actions on legal grounds during her term were “rare and exceptional”. The move to dismiss Baharav-Miara comes shortly after the government decided last Thursday to fire the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, citing a loss of personal trust. In response, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar sent a letter accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to undermine the agency’s independence and politicize national security operations. Meanwhile, Israel’s High Court of Justice has frozen the dismissal and scheduled a hearing on petitions against the move for April 8 by a panel of three justices. While the government is legally authorized to remove the Shin Bet head, the court may delay the dismissal due to the agency’s involvement in the “Qatar-gate” investigation. It could also rule that the dismissal process was flawed— lacking proper justification or consultation with the Attorney General—and annul it. Baharav-Miara’s own position may be more protected. Unlike the Shin Bet Chief, whose dismissal is governed by law, the Attorney General’s removal is based only on a government resolution. As Israel’s top legal gatekeeper, any move against her is likely to draw intense judicial scrutiny. Market response Israel’s financial markets reacted nervously to the political cr...

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