Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara responded this afternoon (Monday) to the petition of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be held in contempt of court over his intervention in the efforts to negotiate a compromise on the judicial reform issue, though she did state that the Prime Minister violated his conflict of interest agreement by becoming involved in the issue.
“In order to establish, from a legal point of view, a claim of contempt of court, certain conditions must be met, which are not met in the current state of affairs. The position of the Attorney General regarding the petition does not change the prime minister’s duty to uphold the law and avoid acting in conflict of interest,” the Attorney General said.
She also stated that “the court has already ruled that the conflict of interest in which the Prime Minister finds himself is unusual in its nature and intensity. In this unusual situation, the Prime Minister must be extremely careful about the rule that prohibits action in a situation of conflict of interest. The coalition led by of the Prime Minister promoted initiatives for fundamental changes in the justice system, which if implemented are also expected to benefit him compared to the current situation, as far as his trial is concerned.”
The Attorney General’s duty, as required by law and the ruling of the court, to clarify what are the relevant restrictions in the field of conflict of interest that apply in this situation. Without establishing relevant restrictions and adhering to them, the prime minister may be found in a systematic and open violation of the law. To the extent that the prime minister disagrees on the manner of implementation of the established limitations, he can raise his claims before the court within the framework of an appropriate procedure,” Baharav-Miara stated.

The Movement for Quality Government responded: “We regret the weak and evasive response of the Attorney General, which comes in complete opposition to the strong and firm line she has held so far in her instructions to the members of the government. If this looks, smells and sounds like a violation of the ruling – it is a violation that is punishable by contempt of court in a manner that requires imposing sanctions on the Prime Minister.”
“There is and will never be a single person in the State of Israel who is above the law, not even a prime minister accused of crimes who takes the law into his own hands. We are very sorry that at the moment of truth the Attorney General chose to back down from her clear position, and we hope that the court will rule according to our petition,” the movement stated.