Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri, a key Cabinet ally, on Sunday after the Supreme Court barred Deri from holding office due to past criminal convictions.
The move has deepened a rift between the government and judiciary over the power of the courts and Netanyahu has vowed to find 'legal route' to bring Deri back.
Ordering the removal of Deri, Netanyahu said, “I am compelled, with a heavy heart, with great sorrow and with the worst possible feeling, to remove you from your position as a minister in the government.” The Times of Israel reported Deri was barred from holding office due to his past criminal convictions and his promise to resign from political life as part of a plea bargain last year after his conviction for tax offences.
Netanyahu was quoted saying by the publication, “This unfortunate decision ignores the will of the people, as shown by the considerable trust that the public placed in the elected representatives, who sit in my government when it was clear to all that you would serve in the government as a senior minister.”
A statement from Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader fired Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri, who the court decided could not serve as a Cabinet minister because of a conviction last year over tax offences. Netanyahu announced the firing at a meeting of his Cabinet.
The court ruling came as Israel is mired in a dispute over the power of the judiciary. Netanyahu's far-right government wants to weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians.
Critics say the move upends the country's system of checks and balances and imperils Israel's democratic fundamentals.
Deri's firing is also expected to shake Netanyahu's governing coalition, a union buoyed by ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, including Deri's Shas, which is the third largest in the government.
While some Shas lawmakers threatened to bolt the fledgling coalition in the aftermath of the court ruling, it is expected to survive Deri's absence and to attempt to craft legislation that would pave the way for his swift return.
Netanyahu is now expected to appoint other Shas members to replace Deri, at least temporarily.
Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in Israeli history, has made overhauling the country's judiciary a centrepiece of its agenda. It says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance.
The plan has drawn fierce criticism from top legal officials, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, former lawmakers and tens of thousands of Israelis who have come out repeatedly to protest the overhaul.
