Israel's cabinet passes a vote of no confidence against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, in a first step to remove another top official critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies.
The cabinet passed the vote on Sunday against Baharav-Miara who is accused of “inappropriate behavior,” and of “substantial differences of opinion” with the cabinet, Al Jazeera reported.
Baharav-Miara has rejected the accusations, saying that the cabinet attempts to work above the law and strengthen its power without regard for the judiciary.
The vote of no confidence would not immediately lead to the removal of the attorney general from office, with the entire process for firing her likely to take many weeks or even months. Part of the process requires a five-member committee to review the arguments and hold a hearing to consider the case. Also, the Supreme Court could intervene if the committee does not support the dismissal of the attorney general.
However, Netanyahu’s cabinet to pass a motion of no-confidence against Baharav-Miara has drawn more criticism against it. That’s because the motion was held days after the cabinet approved the dismissal of Shin Bet security agency's chief Ronen Bar in response to a proposal by Netanyahu.
For now, Bar's dismissal has been held up for two weeks after the Supreme Court suspended the cabinet’s decision on Friday.
However, the attempted dismissal of him and the attorney general has sparked widespread protests, with thousands expressing concerns at what they see as threats to democracy. Protesters and Israeli opposition groups say the cabinet is cracking down on voices critical of Netanyahu who faces corruption charges and growing anger over his failure to return prisoners held in Gaza despite the war dragging on in the Palestinian territory.
Critics say that Bar's dismissal was due to his criticism of the cabinet’s security failures leading to the October 7 Al-Aqsa Storm Operation by Palestine’s Hamas resistance movement against Israel.
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