Israel: Netanyahu dismisses Interior Minister Deri

Status: 01/02/2023 2:31 PM

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu submitted to the Supreme Court’s ruling: Interior Minister Deri must leave office after a few weeks. The prime minister does not want to finally admit defeat.

Von Julio Segador, ARD-Studio Tel Aviv

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to reshuffle his cabinet a few weeks after his cabinet team takes power. Under pressure from the Supreme Court, he sacked the Minister of the Interior and Health, Ari Deri. A step Netanyahu took reluctantly.

Julio Segador
ARD-Studio Tel Aviv

In a letter read by Netanyahu at the cabinet meeting, he expressed his regret over the decision and described al-Dari as an anchor of expertise, intelligence and responsibility. Netanyahu said the Supreme Court’s decision ignored the will of the nation. He intends to find any legal means possible to allow Al-Dari to continue contributing to the country.

Many criminal records

Deri, who leads the hardline Shas party, said it was clear the court’s decision must be respected. However, he does not intend to retire from political life.

Last week, the Supreme Court deemed Deri’s appointment “inappropriate” and urged Netanyahu to remove him. The background to this is the many previous convictions the politician has accumulated in the past, including tax offenses and corruption.

Deri announced that he would continue to lead his party and attend coalition meetings. No court decision will prevent him from serving and representing the 400,000 people who elected him.

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